Through agreements with major genealogy entities Ancestry.com, FindmyPast.com and the Origins Network, FamilySearch will greatly broaden online access to censuses for the United States, England and Wales. The agreements include arrangements to offer improved digital images of census images, as well as better and enhanced census indexes. And since many of these records will eventually be available on FamilySearch, this will also improve their free census offerings currently available through FamilySearch Record Search.

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch, the two largest family history resources, have announced today that they will "exchange records and resources to make more historical records available online." That is great progress - to see those two great organizations working together. The first joint project will be an initiative to significantly enhance the U.S. Federal Census collection (1790 - 1930). FamilySearch is digitally converting master microfilm copies of the original census records and will give these improved images to Ancestry.com (technology has much improved since Ancestry.com first scanned their census images). The improved census images will also be made available for free access in NARA reading rooms and FamilySearch's 4,500 Family History Centers.

In return, Ancestry.com will provide Read more...

When I visted the popular genealogy site FamilySearch.org today to do some searching in the IGI and in the Georgia Death Certificates at FamilySearch Record Search, I was greeted by a new, sleeker homepage design. I'm not sure exactly when it launched, but it was sometime this week - I'm on that site for some reason or another almost daily!

I like the new look as it makes most of the most commonly used features easy to find. If you're looking for the Record Search pilot, you'll find it under the main search box as "Record Search pilot" link, as well as under the "Search Records" dropdown at the top of the page (although I missed those dropdowns the first time I looked at the page as the blue on blue doesn't really stand out). There's also a direct link to the FamilySearch Indexing project which I've blogged about previously. "What's New" takes you to a new introductory page for the FamilySearch Indexing project.

Findmypast.com, in association with the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS), has officially launched their Parish Records Collection. In addition to the 12+ million parish records previously available on the site, 2.7 million new parish records have just been added. In total, the collection encompasses records from over 1,000 parishes across Britain dating as far back as 1838.

At present, the parish records collection only covers burials, however a total of 7 million baptism, marriage and probate records will be added online later this year. Since many baptism and marriage records are already available in the IGI and through other online resources, I'm happy they began with the burials.

The following new records have been added: Read more...

Members of the subscription genealogy Web site Ancestry.com are being greeted with a brand-new homepage when they log in for the first time since the change launched last week. According to Ancestry.com, the new page "combines the best of the old homepage with all of the personalized features and tools formerly in the MyAncestry tab." By combining the old homepage with the MyAncestry tab, Ancestry.com says they have reduced the number of clicks it takes researchers to access the features they use most. Like most changes, however, what is good for some is not so good for others.

For me, personally, for example, the new homepage design pushes the search box down the page to the point where I now have to scroll down to fully access it on my laptop which requires an extra click for me now - more, not less. Since search is the primary reason I maintain a subscription to Ancestry.com, the search box is what I want at the top of my homepage. That may not be the case for others, however.

There are things I do like about the new Ancestry homepage. The layout and design is pleasing and I especially like the Quick Links (including the prominently displayed Ancestry Card Catalog) which makes it easy to find a particular database. What I would like to see, however (and something I honestly expect from any of today's "2.0" Web sites) is a homepage that I can customize to meet my needs. Users should be able to select from a list of "widgets" those items that they use most, and place them in the locations which make the most sense for their work habits.

I did try the "Tell Us What You Think" feature, and found the survey to be more of a general Ancestry.com user survey than specifically geared to feedback on the new homepage. There was a general comments box at the end, however, where I shared my thoughts.