by Lisa Cooke | Oct 19, 2015 | 01 What's New, Ancestry, NARA
The US National Archives has signed agreements with FamilySearch and Ancestry to put more of the Archives’ unique genealogical treasures online. We think that’s worth shouting about!
The National Archives has been working with FamilySearch and Ancestry for years to digitize genealogical treasures from its vaults. Contracts have been signed to continue efforts with both partners to digitize even MORE genealogy records at the National Archives: MORE birth, marriage, death, immigration and military service records! Here are some highlights from the contract:
1. Partners will now “be able to post segments of large collections immediately, rather than waiting for the entire collection to be completed.” This sounds familiar to users of FamilySearch, which regularly dumps un-indexed chunks of digitized content onto its site just to make it available faster.
2. The updated agreement contains provisions to protect “personally identifying information.”
3. Ancestry will have a shorter time period (by 12-24 months) during which they have exclusive rights to publish the images together with the index. After that, the National Archives can put the material on its site and/or share it with other partners.
4. The National Archives “will continue to receive copies of the digital images and metadata for inclusion in its online catalog….The public will be able to access these materials free of charge from National Archives research facilities nationwide [not online]. Ancestry.com makes the digitized materials available via subscription.”
What kind of data is already online from The National Archives?
FamilySearch and Ancestry already host digital images of millions of National Archives documents: U.S. federal censuses. Passenger lists. Border crossings. Naturalization records. Compiled military service records. Freedman’s Bank and Freedmen’s Bureau records (the latter are currently being indexed). Federal taxation records. And the list goes on! According to the press release, before these partnerships began, “many of these records were only available by request in original form in the research rooms of the National Archives.”
Click here 
to search all the National Archives content on Ancestry (more than 170 million images; subscription required to view).
Just in case you’re wondering (and I was wondering), The National Archives isn’t playing favorites with their partnerships. This list shows that a National Archives partnership is pending with Findmypast. They’re already working with Fold3. I wasn’t surprised to see the John F. Kennedy Library on their list, but I wouldn’t have guessed the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland!
Click to read more National Archives gems on our website:
Celebrate the U.S. Constitution with National Archives Resources
National Archives Digitizing Projects: Colonial, WWII, Jewish and More
National Archives Regional Facilities Closing or Consolidating
by Lisa Cooke | Aug 16, 2011 |
Episode 21 Show Notes
Genealogy Review Online review of Genealogy Gems, Movie Pick: Full of Life,
FOIA follow up, Thanks for the Memories
Episode 22 Show Notes
Mailbox: Family History Display, Memory Books, Anna-Karin’s Genealogical Podcast,
Turn your iPod into a family history tool.
Episode 23 Show Notes
FOIA Reply, iPod follow up: Photos
Episode 24 Show Notes
NAR Announcement, Genealogy Gems Book, Swedish book recommendations, Genealogy Gems TV tour.
Episode 25 Show Notes
Book announcement, Germany History Videos, Allen County Library Records, N. Utah Genealogy Jamboree, Newspapers at World Vital Records, Newsletter update.
Episode 26 Show Notes
Internet Explorer Favorites Management, The Socks to America Video
Episode 27 Show Notes
Military FOIA, World Vital Records Success, Sharing the podcast with your society, Interview with DearMYRTLE.
Episode 28 Show Notes
Interviewing strangers on the telephone
Episode 29 Show Notes
Interview with Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
Episode 30 Show Notes
Interview with Ali Selim, director of the film Sweet Land
Episode 31 Show Notes
The Library of Congress, Genealogy for the Next Generation
Episode 32 Show Notes
Freedom of Information Act Followup. Mailbox, Family History Christmas Wreath
Episode 33 Show Notes
History of the Census, The Genealogy Gems News Blog, Kathryn Flocken’s Silhouettes, More Google Gadgets
Episode 34 Show Notes
A Thanksgiving Celebration
Episode 35 Show Notes
Facebook, Funtime.com Genealogy Quizzes, Tapping into the Strengths of Others, Library of Congress Webcasts, Using Juvenile Books, New Access to More British Records
Episode 36 Show Notes
The Book has gone digital, Passport Applications Database, History of Sound Recordings, Lisa’s 10 Golden Rules for making family history sound recordings.
Episode 37 Show Notes
Polycola.com, Family History Expo 2008 Video Premiere, Passport Find, iTunes GET ALL, The History of the Christmas Seal
Episode 38 Show Notes
The Family Tree of Venice
Episode 39 Show Notes
History Podcasts, Heritage Quilts
Episode 40 Show Notes
Everything Old is New Again, Family History Expo 2008, Lisa’s Top 5 Inherited Traits, The Care, Storage and Display of Heritage Quilts
by Lisa Cooke | Jan 29, 2014 | 01 What's New, Family History Library, FamilySearch, Libraries, Research Skills, RootsTech
Whether you’re going to RootsTech next week or not, at some point in your genealogical research you’ll want to use the Family History Library (FHL). The FHL, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, has 6.875 billion historical records on microfilm, which contain an estimated 20.6 billion names. That’s a lot of ancestors!
The FHL and its sponsor organization, FamilySearch International, are busy digitizing and indexing all those records, but it’s going to take some time. And some of those records may never be digitized because of publication rights limitations or other issues. So you should know how to access all those great microfilms!
Yesterday I republished Episode 16 of the original Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast. It features a great interview with Margery Bell on using the Family History Library. The show notes have updated tips on using the online catalog. Click here for some must-have tips on preparing for your visit. You’ll get a lot more out of your limited time in the library if you know exactly what information you’re looking for and where you’re going to look for it!
