About 20 years ago my cousin and I were researching at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. He was using international films in the basement and I was working upstairs. I went to the basement to see if he was ready to go to dinner. While passing through the book stacks, I noticed a large 8-volume set bearing the surname of my husband's maternal grandmother. It was in German, but after much searching I was able to find his grandmother and her family in the 7th book. The book traced her line back to the 1600s. The publication date was fairly recent and the author's address in Germany was included. I wrote to compliment him on his work, and he replied. Fortunately he was fluent in English. We corresponded several times. I was able to update him on the family--all he had was the grandmother's birth date and marriage, as she and her husband had immigrated to the U.S. in 1902. He was unaware of a second marriage of the grandmother's father and was able to locate that record, as well as the death date of the second wife. I wouldn't be able to have this serendipitous experience today, as the books are in storage. The spelling variation the grandmother's family used for their name is not included in the catalog record, so I might not have found the books by searching the catalog. I was in the right place at the right time! Donna Meszaros