In the modern era, every family and local community can cultivate its own history, endowing living people with meanings inherited from the people of the past, by means of today’s computer-based information and communication technologies. A new profession is emerging, family historians, serving the wider public by assisting in collection and analysis of fascinating data, by teaching talented amateur historians, and by producing complete narratives. Essential are the skills and technologies required to preserve and connect photos, movies, videos, diaries, memoirs, correspondence, artefacts and even architecture such as homes. Online genealogical services are well established sources of official government records, but usually not for recent decades, and not covering the valuable records of legal, medical, and religious organizations. Information can be shared and interpreted by family members through oral history interviews, social media, and online private archives such as wikis and shared file depositories. This book explores a wide variety of online information sources and achieves coherence by documenting and interpreting the history of a particular extended American family on the basis of 9 decades of movies and videos, 17 decades of photographs, and centuries of documents. Starting now, any family may begin to preserve their current experiences for the historians of the future, but this will require social as well as technical innovations. This book is the essential resource, providing the fundamental principles, effective methods, and fascinating questions required to make our past live again.

Your Guide to Online Genealogy The internet has made millions of records available to search any time, anywhere. Start finding your ancestors with just a few strokes of a keyboard using the detailed instruction in this book. Inside you'll find: • An overview of where and how to start your family history research • Detailed descriptions of the best online databases for family historians • Hundreds of helpful websites to further your research • Step-by-step search instructions to help you find exactly what you're looking for • Chapters dedicated to finding specific records, including birth, marriage and death; census; military; land; and immigration • Case studies that apply key concepts to real-life searches • Ideas for connecting with fellow researchers and distant relatives through social media, blogging and newsletters • Special resources for researching American Indian, African-American and Jewish ancestors • Plus access to bonus online video demonstrations If you're curious about who's hanging out in your family tree, there's never been a better time to find out. Get this book, get online and get started today!

Master the #1 Free Genealogy Website! Discover your ancestry on FamilySearch.org, the world's largest free genealogy website. This fully-updated in-depth user guide shows you how to find your family in the site's databases of more than 3.5 billion names and millions of digitized historical records spanning the globe. Learn how to maximize all of FamilySearch.org's research tools—including hard-to-find features—to extend your family tree in America and the old country. In this book, you'll find: • Step-by-step strategies to craft search queries that find ancestors fast • Practical pointers for locating your ancestors in record collections that aren't searchable • Detailed overviews of FamilySearch.org's major U.S. collections, with helpful record explanations to inform your research • Guidance for using FamilySearch.org's vast record collections from Europe, Canada, Mexico and 100-plus countries around the world • Tips for creating and managing your family tree on FamilySearch.org • Secrets to utilizing user-submitted genealogies, the site’s revamped Digital Library with digitized family history books, and the FamilySearch catalog of 2.4 million offline resources. • Expanded coverage of the FamilySearch mobile app, and updates on FamilySearch-compatible services and apps • A new chapter on accessing records on-site at the Family History Library, local FamilySearch Centers and affiliate libraries • Worksheets and checklists to track your research progress • Illustrated step-by-step examples teach you exactly how to apply these tips and techniques to your own research. Whether you're new to FamilySearch.org or you're a longtime user, you'll find the guidance you need to discover your ancestors and make the most of the site's valuable resources.

Researching family history is the second most popular topic on the Internet (after sex). In Online Roots, Pamela Boyer Porter, a Certified Genealogical Records Specialist, explains how to search effectively on the Internet, how to assess the value of what you find, and the best way to make full use of the resources of the Internet to trace your family's history and heritage. Topics covered include: Judging your sources Checking modern lists and resources Finding clues to primary sources Researching military records When an ancestor has a criminal record Locating photographs on the web Researching on the Internet can be fun and challenging. Online Roots makes your search more effective and creative.

Discover new ways to research your family history in the era of digital technology with this ultimate guide brought to you by the Family Tree team. From essential web resources to creating your tree in the cloud, from sharing your discoveries via social media, to treasuring the past with a Flickr album or YouTube channel, it's all covered. Family history at your fingertips will introduce you to the sources you need to begin tracing your family history, revealing what you can find online as well as what is available in physical libraries and archives. Plus it will help you get to grips with DNA testing, dating your family photos and learning what your ancestors' medals were awarded for.

Digital libraries are now a reality and yet their implementation and use is still not at an optimum. This text examines the various options for setting up digital libraries from digitising information in the first place to providing the interface to access the information held by the digital global library.

Here is everything you need to promote your library as a center for genealogical study by leveraging your collection to help patrons conduct research on ancestors, document family stories, and archive family heirlooms. Websites, social media, and the Internet have made research on family history accessible. Your library can tap into the popularity of the do-it-yourself genealogy movement by promoting your role as both a preserver of local community history as well as a source for helping your patrons archive what's important to their family. This professional guide will teach you how to integrate family history programming into your educational outreach tools and services to the community. The book is divided into three sections: the first introduces methods for creating a program to help your clients trace their roots; the second provides library science instruction in reference and planning for local collections; and the third part focuses on the use of specific types of resources in local collections. Additional information features methods for preserving photographs, letters, diaries, documents, memorabilia, and ephemera. The text also includes bibliographies, appendices, checklists, and links to online aids to further assist with valuating and organizing important family mementos.