Library services report New challenge
1 There has been a huge increase in the number of people interested in researching their ancestry, and genealogy has become a multi-billion-dollar industry. A British government ancestry site recently received more than 50 million hits, and access had to be restricted to cope with the demand. Due to this surge in interest, we have decided that our library records department will need to be reorganized in terms of staffing. In the past, we have received occasional requests for assistance in tracing documentation relating to family and business histories, but in the last two years the number of requests has reached a level that cannot be addressed by the existing staff alone. We are currently in the process of recruiting two additional specialists.

Family history
2 Traditionally, genealogy was thought of as finding out about your family tree. The idea was to find out who came before you, going as far back in history as possible. However, nowadays it is more common to want to find out as much detail about the people as possible, so what was a purely factual quest has become a historical process. This is an area that we are able to address, as our records include diaries and other documents that contain information and clues that can help build a more complete picture.

Medicine and law
3 In the past, most genealogical searches could be classified as vanity searches, because the motivation was to prove family nobility. However, this is no longer the case. One of the driving forces of the increased interest in genealogy has been in relation to illness. Genetics are now recognized as significant in predicting the likelihood of suffering from many types of diseases, including cancer and heart disease. There may also be a legal dimension to the searches, because inheritance claims often rely on ancestry. In both of these cases, we, as a department, must be particularly careful in relation to possible lawsuits, and we will be providing legal training to all relevant staff.

Naming conventions
4 The key starting point for any genealogical search is through surnames. Although first names, maiden names, and middle names are all significant, it is through surnames that most family history can be traced. For this reason, the department will be updating all of our databases with surname information. This is a skilled job, as spellings are often changed on documents as a result of clerical error. All staff will be involved in this process after appropriate training.

Commercial aspects
5 As mentioned earlier, genealogy is no longer a vanity hobby but has become a lucrative business. As a nonprofit organization, it is not our intention to compete in this market; however, we will need to cover the costs of increased staffing and training, so we will be charging a nominal fee for our services. The finance department is currently assessing the charges, which will be detailed in our next report. The fees will be reviewed on an annual basis.
6 We thank all staff in advance for your cooperation in this exciting new opportunity for our department. Please make sure that you keep well informed of any updates on the website.

Match the heading (1-5) with five main ideas (A-H)

1. New challenge
2. Family history
3. Medicine and law
4. Naming conventions
5. Commercial aspects

A. People from European countries are more interested in genealogy than people from elsewhere.
B. Interest in genealogy has grown dramatically in recent years.
C. People want to find out more details about the lives of their ancestors.

D. Advanced technology is necessary for conducting detailed genealogy searches.
E. Issues related to genetics and inheritance are of increasing importance in genealogy searches.
F. People conducting ancestry searches tend to be males over the age of 45.
G. The most vital piece of information in a genealogy search is a person’s last name.
H. The area of genealogy is becoming financially rewarding.

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