It looks like The National Archives has another private sector partner. According to the press release, NARA has "provided World Vital Records with the first shipment of online genealogical records, including the Irish Famine passenger and ship records, World War II Army Enlistment Records, Korean War Dead and Wounded Army Casualties records, and other military records, totaling more than 10.2 million records." I think this partnership, and the one with Footnote, are good initiatives that bring these records to people who ordinarily wouldn't have easy access because of where they live, whether or not they can travel, or any other reason. The counter argument as stated by Dan Cohen in his Digital Humanities Blog takes a well reasoned position that "open access to our cultural heritage" is at stake. He argues that the subscriptions required by the private sector limits access only to those that pay - which is contrary to the whole point of public records. Read Cohen's two articles on the NARA/Footnote partnership - both are very thought provoking.
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