Ancestry is a for-profit commercial online repository, and provider of genealogy products and services, based out of Lehi, Utah. It bills itself as the “largest provider of family history and personal DNA testing” in the world. It provides access to more than 65 billion historical records from around the world. The company dates its founding as 1983, but the Ancestry.com website did not launch until 1996. (Source: Ancestry.com)
Ancestry seeks out, preserves, and provides access to collections from all over the world. Their U.S. collection includes all states, federal territories, and the federal district, representing all eras of U.S. history.
Ancestry comes in two versions: the individual consumer subscription version (Ancestry.com), and Ancestry Library Edition, which is licensed to libraries and other institutions, usually for use by multiple users at a time. We will explore both versions on the next set of lesson pages.
Ancestry.com is the commercial version of Ancestry, which is purchased by individual subscribers.
Ancestry.com provides several different individual subscription packages , each providing access to a different range of collections. Each individual paid subscriber has their own account and member profile. A user must be logged in (authenticated) to view the collections that are restricted to paid subscribers.
Ancestry allows individuals to create free accounts, even without a paid subscription. These free account members cannot access most of the historical records collections, but they can use and take advantage of the other services available to registered users, such as:
It is important to note that if someone was once a paid member and saved a bunch of records to their family tree, but later let the paid subscription lapse, the family tree and information in that tree remain in tact. However that free accountholder will no longer be able to access any of the subscription-based historical records that were previously attached to their tree. If they reactivate their paid subscription, the attached historical records become available again if those records fall within the current paid subscription package.
Ancestry.com allows free access to a number of their collections (not a lot, but a good selection). These free collections are made available through the World Archives Project (Links to an external site.), or selected partner institutions or projects whose terms require providing free access. A paid subscription is not required to access or view these collections, which include a mix of indexes and actual digitized records.
These free collections can be searched for free without authenticating, however one must register for and authenticate with a free account in order to view those free records. Someone with a free account can attach those free records to their family tree, and continue to view those free records from within their family tree. These free collections can be found here (Links to an external site.).
Members can create as many online trees as they want. Unlike FamilySearch, Ancestry trees are not shared by default, and are not public to all authenticated members by default. An ancestry member can make any of their trees:
Ancestry members can invite other Ancestry members to have edit access and work together on a tree.
Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) is licensed and offered through ProQuest, a library vendor that licenses many of the research databases to which the Pollak Library subscribes. The Pollak Library, however, does not have an ALE subscription.
Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) is usually only available from inside libraries that subscribe to this service. Check with the libraries for which you have accounts and library cards to determine if they subscribe to ALE.
There are some differences between ALE and the regular Ancestry.com.
Ancestry now provides a discounted World Explorer Student Plan for college and university students. This provides access to all U.S. and international collections for $4.99/month instead of the regular World Explorer plan of $39.99/month. Participation requires applying and then verifying your current student status at a higher education institution. A credit card is required.
Students can also use Ancestry for free by visiting a public library that subscribes to Ancestry Library Edition or a local FamilySearch Center.
FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and online historical records repository operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (referred to hereinafter as the LDS Church). It is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and provides 100% free access to its records, regardless if one is an LDS member or not.
The organization preserves and provides access to historical records from all over the world, partnering with institutions from all over the world, to assist with digitizing (paper, bound, microform records), indexing, creating preservation copies, and providing free access to those materials. FamilySearch's collections currently include more than 13 billion searchable names in records databases and digitized collections, and more than 5.7 billion digitized record images. FamilySearch dates its founding as 1894, but the FamilySearch website did not launch until 1999.
FamilySearch has always made its services available for free to the public. However, registering for a free account is required.
While most collections can be viewed from anywhere with internet access, some collections are restricted to viewing from within a FamilySearch Center or one of their Affiliate Libraries due to contractual agreements with the archives that hold those original records.
The FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah is the largest genealogy library in the world and is a must-do for any serious genealogist. The Library is open seven days a week excluding designated holidays. It can be used by anyone for free. The Library is staffed by a mix of friendly helpful staff and volunteers. Research specialists make up part of the staff, who each specialize in different areas of the world. Those who specialize in non-English-speaking countries are fluent in those languages.
The FamilySearch Library also operates an extensive branch library system throughout the world.FamilySearch Centers can be used by anyone for free, and are staffed with friendly helpful volunteers. Each Center maintains a small collection of non-circulating materials. The centers vary in size, with some (like the Los Angeles location) that are quite large, although most are small. Each center provides free access to a number of genealogy website subscriptions. Use this web page to find the nearest FamilySearch Center to you.
Certain public, academic, and special libraries are designated as FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries. These libraries provide access to the restricted access FamilySearch digital collections that otherwise have to be accessed in a FamilySearch Center. Use this web page to find the nearest FamilySearch Affiliate Library to you.
The following southern Southern California public libraries provide access to subscription databases specific to genealogy or with collections extremely valuable to genealogy research. Some of these websites must be accessed on-site at that library due to their licensing agreements with the website and databases vendors. But others can be accessed remotely if you have a library card with that public library. Check each library's website for information on obtaining a library card. It is definitely worth obtaining a library card to use these valuable resources!
Take advantage of the Pollak Library's annual Public Expo to register for library cards at various public libraries in Southern California.
Los Angeles Public Library will be at the Expo only on Tuesday, September 16th.