>********************** >"This is a bit long winded but worth reading. PLEASE circulate, at least the >address of the FAMILY SEARCH, to any roots-l you may belong (to) so that the >LDS will consider to keep it running." > >As the director of a LDS Family History Center, I have received a notice from >Salt Lake LDS FHL, announcing the Beta testing of Family Search on line. It >is not yet up, a problem with a piece of equipment, but will be starting >sometimes this month and will be up only a few weeks as a test run. > >If there is not a lot of interest it will be taken off and not put back on. So >spread the word and keep trying to get through. When it comes on line the URL >will be: > > http://www.familysearch.org > >I have not been told exactly what will be available but know at least the >Ancestral File and Family History Library Catalog will be included. > >Family Search is the name of the program we have on CDs in all LDS FHCs. Some >public libraries also have this program. FS includes the IGI, Ancestral File, >Family History Library Catalog, Social Security Death Records, Koran and >Vietnam war death records, and Scottish Church Records. > >For those of you not familiar with the various searches, the IGI is the >International Genealogical Index. It includes, in alphabetical order, all of >the names that have been sent to the Temples to have ordinances performed in >their name. > >Names in the IGI are usually submitted by members, but not always. Non-members >also submit their family names to get them into the IGI. Some of the marriages >may have been part of extraction programs. The names were taken from >courthouse records and checked and rechecked by several volunteers before >being accepted as correct. > >Most people do try to send in accurate information but there are many >mistakes. My advice is, always check the original source. Use the IGI to find >where people with your surname would have lived and order the census and court >records from that area. > >Ancestral File is Gedcoms of group and pedigree sheets sent in by members and >non-members. The name and address of the submitter is included and hopefully >will allow you to contact others working on your line. If the address is out >of date sometimes a letter to the Membership dept. in Salt Lake will get you a >correct address if the person was a member of the LDS church. > >Once again, the material is only as good as the research that went into it and >some of it is pretty bad. Check it out before you 'adopt' it. > >If you find a mistake on Ancestral File, you can send in your corrections, >along with your sources of proof, and it will be noted in the next update. The >first submitter does not have to provide proof, but you do, if you are making >a correction. You can add additions to a file, or submit a new file. You do >not have to be a member to submit material. > >The Family History Library Catalog is a listing of every book, film and fiche >available at the Salt Lake City LDS Family History Library. This allows us to >find what is available for each locality, world-wide. It includes the FHL call >numbers and a description of what is included in the film/fiche or book. > >The material from the books and film/fiche will not be on line. That is not >something they can do, at this time. Hopefully it will be a possibility some >time in the distant future. > >The film and fiche will still have to be ordered through FHC. Microfilm and >microfiche are the property of the FHL and are sent into the care of the LDS >FHC director and must remain under her/his care until returned. For this >reason they are never allowed to be taken from the LDS FHC. > >Almost all of the microfilm and microfiche at the LDS Family History Library >in Salt Lake City can be ordered into any LDS FHL, anywhere in the world, but >there are a few exceptions. Copyright laws prevent them from using material >without the written consent of the owner. Some of the film and fiche where >filmed by companies other than the LDS Church and permission to circulate >these film to LDS FHCs has been denied. There will be a notice included in the >description, saying it can not be circulated. Many of the SC microfilm where >made by a company who has refused permission to allow the film to be >circulated, but there are many microfilm available for SC, some covering the >same material that is on the restricted film. > >The LDS FHL is a non-profit organization, and that is why it still cost only >15 cents a sheet for a microfiche, $3.25 plus tax to rent a microfilm for a >month [may be more in other countries] and the SourceGuide and other home use >programs are sold at such a reasonable price. We aren't allowed to make a >profit, even in the FHCs. > >The books that are listed are not loaned out but can sometimes be obtained >through an Inter-library loan through your public library. You can request >copies of pages and if a book is indexed, by ordering the index you can see if >your people would have been listed. In cases where the copyright has expired >the book may have been filmed or can be filmed upon request. Never hurts to >ask. > -- Jan C. Plemmons 4996 1st Coast Hwy. Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 904-321-1865 e-mail address: [email protected] --------------75785E922139-- ==== PENLEY Mailing List ==== "How can a tangled web that appears so open be so impregnable when we try to pierce it as when we delve into genealogy!" -Jerry A. Penley-