Listers, I was alerted a few days ago that the LDS 'old site' may be closed down since they want us to use the 'new site' - it was suggested that those of us who still find the 'old site' helpful should write to them and let them know our concerns. If they would combine the two, well, wouldn't that be nice. Margie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peggy Baldwin at Family Passages" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 8:51 AM Subject: Re: [NORCAL] New vs. Old Family Search web site The catalog on the old site is more reliable, if you are searching for undigitized microfilm or books in their collection. Peggy -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of A. Mason Design Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 7:41 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [NORCAL] New vs. Old Family Search web site Hi Norcalers, The primary difference I noticed about the two websites, aside from the different visual look, is that on the "new" site they include the actual scanned images of records that the "old" site only listed textually. It's a very important difference. All search engines of scanned images depend on the ability of the transcriber to correctly interpret the hand-writing of the original. I'm sure most folks have had the frustration of not being able to find an ancestor because the spelling was recorded "oddly." Whenever I can't find a specific person due to spelling, I will start searching the actual images. More often than not, I will find the person. Most recently I was looking for the surname "Perez," and found it as "Paris." I think it's wonderful that Family Search now provides both methods of searching for someone. The "old" site is accessible through the "new" site. Both sites are useful. Hope this helps, Anita C. Monterey County