This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Lookup Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/xU.2ADE/435 Message Board Post: Hi there to all fellow Researchers - The Maricopa Board is becoming more and more popular. Many of the requests are for the same subject so I thought I would establish a "Self Help MENU" which will list a series of "Self Help TOOLS" in the hopes that you can speed along your own research with an aid or help tool that hopefully will be useful for your endeavor. The Self Help MENU (aka MENU) will include all the titles, names and numbers given for any specific Self Help TOOLS (aka TOOLS). The actual TOOLS themselves will include contemporary instructions on how to find or obtain some item of interest to you, the researcher. It might be something as common as how to obtain a birth certificate or a copy of an obituary. It may be something more complex such as how to find a person that you have lost contact with. Whatever the subject, an attempt will be made to develop a specific TOOL for the subject. Each TOOL will be given a title or a name and a number. As an example the first will be "Self Help TOOL #1 - Vital Record - BIRTH CERTIFICATE - Maricopa". While the tools might be useful in other counties in Arizona, the TOOLS posted at the Maricopa board will be tailored specifically for Maricopa County queries. As "Rome wasn't built in a day" eventually a "Self Help MENU" will take shape and be posted as well. However, the MENU will, of necessity, take time to develop and won't be finalized OR posted for some time. The MENU, when posted, will list all the "Self Help TOOLS" for which a posting has been made that offers you guidelines, suggestions or how-to instructions for working on a research subject of your choosing. The "Self Help TOOLS" will be in a numeric format and will be posted one at a time over a period of time. Today Self Help TOOL #1 will be posted. This TOOL will outline how you can obtain a birth certificate from Maricopa County Records. Inorder to find a specific Self Help TOOL or the Self Help MENU when finalized and posted, merely click on "Advanced Search" at the top right center of this web page, click "Maricopa Board" at the top of the following web page and then type "Self Help TOOL" or "Self Help MENU" in the text OR subject box and press your enter key. The search engine should have no trouble finding the text OR subject you want to obtain instructions for and then you can "print" the instructional text and utilize it as a guide in your research efforts. If you have a suggestion for a Self Help TOOL you'd like to see posted, start a new, separate posting regarding your suggestion and then we'll work together (you and all board volunteers that wish to participate) to craft a new TOOL that will benefit every researcher. If you have a suggestion as to how an existing Self Help TOOL can be improved start a new, separate posting offering your suggestion for discussion with the participating board volunteers. Once a refinement or improvement is confirmed a revised "Self Help TOOL" will be posted incorporating the suggested changes and improvements. Hopefully, as time goes on, the MENU and TOOLS will prove to be worthwhile to us all. Happy Hunting to one and all!! Glen F. Pritchett, USGENWEB volunteer