About 40 societies are losing remote access as their contracts expire. That's not a big deal for most researchers, who can go elsewhere for HeritageQuest's census, Revolutionary War and Freedman's Bank records, plus the Periodical Source Index. Roughly 4,400 libraries across the country provide access to patrons logging on from home. (Ask your library or state archives if it offers this service.)

But the "elsewhere" worries struggling genealogical societies that used HeritageQuest remote access to attract new participants. "Of course we are concerned that the loss of access to ProQuest databases will cause us to lose some of those members," says Harry Macy, vice president of the 4,800-member New York Genealogical & Biographical Society <www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org> (NYG&B). The society may discontinue in-library access, too, since two-thirds of its members live outside New York City.