by Donna Schaal LTLS Consultant
I have been researching my family tree off and on for over 25 years. I inherited the desire to “know” from my grandmother. She would write letters to one of my cousins when some new “fact” was discovered. When she passed, I received all of those handwritten notes, facts, and stories and rumors – right or wrong – proven or disproved – along with many boxes of old photographs.
I am very erratic in my quest for information regarding my family. I have a pattern of major activity for a couple of weeks followed by inactivity for months on end. Keeping track of where I left off is difficult.
If you work in a library and you have encountered people like me, you know we can use all the help we can get. Library patrons come in the library and they want answers to their genealogical questions. They want to connect to resources online and be able to discover new documents, or reach out to family members, or have a place to store photographs. Basically, create and share their story. And they expect, you the librarian to know what’s out there!
Thankfully, genealogy websites are becoming more advanced and robust with 2.0 technologies. Many of these sites offer the same type of services. The site can be completely free, a mixture of free and paid, or a paid subscription.
Genealogy 2.0 sites use advanced social computing and networking technologies like wikis, RSS, mapping, and online family tree building to help people connect with family members and other researchers - sort of MySpace or Facebook for families. Although all documents are not on the web (they really aren’t), there are a variety of resources out there to choose from. Many of the Genealogy 2.0 sites are blending historical research with being able to connect to your living family. This allows collaboration on research. A huge advantage!
I will still always want to go and poke around at the local historical society or plan a trip to Salt Lake City, but if that isn’t convenient these sites can not only keep me organized, they can keep me researching.
The number of sites continues to grow and as librarians it can be a struggle to keep on top of this subject, but here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):
Ancestry.com. Arguably one of the most recognizable and expansive genealogy websites for a fee, of course, ancestry.com continues to build its 2.0 technology. Users can post about their ancestors detailing their research, can ask questions, help with adding records into ancestry, save searches, make a to-do list, etc. Ancestry.com is one of tools and services from the Generations Network, which includes a variety of other research databases.
WorldHistory.com. Was your Civil War private at Gettysburg? Are you related to a famous politician? This site allows you to connect the dots between your family and famous events and people. At WorldHistory.com they have interactive maps, timelines, videos, geocoded photos, museum artifacts, and ways to connect your ancestors to those features.
MyHeritage.com. MyHeritage.com offers family tree building, family calendars, and Smart Matching technology (thanks to their merger with Pearl Street Software/GenCircles.com), which allow the service to compare family trees for overlap. This Israeli-based site also offers a robust, free genealogy metasearch engine, and is available in 17 languages.
Geni.com. It's primary focus is connecting family, allowing you to easily create a family tree and invite other family members to join you. Each individual in the tree has a profile; family members can work together to build profiles for common ancestors. Other features include a Family Calendar, an editable Family Timeline and a Family News feature, which highlights new additions and upcoming events from sites within a user's Family Group
WeRelate.org. This free, public service genealogy Wiki (Wikipedia is a type of Wiki) allows you to create a profile to tell others about your research interests, to receive and respond to emails from other users without publishing your email address, to create online family trees and personal research pages, and to collaborate with other users. The service is completely free, thanks to the Foundation for Online Genealogy, Inc. and the Allen County Public Library, and very easy to use. But if you're looking for a private family Web site option, WeRelate isn't the place for you.
MyFamily.com. MyFamily.com allows families to share photos, news and events for free. You can upload photos and then use them to create fun things like photo books, family photo calendars, and narrated slide shows. Family members can use a special toll-free phone number to record family stories and memories for sharing on your MyFamily site. The basic site with unlimited storage space (100MB per member per month of uploads) and content backup protection is free. Subscription options offer extra features such as customizable templates and themes, a custom domain, and up to 10GB per month of new photo and file uploads per member.
StoryofMyLife.com. Family history is about so much more than family tree charts. This is where Story of My Life fits in, offering a unique way to preserve your life memories (or those of your relatives or ancestors) through writings, pictures, videos and voice recordings. Stories can be made private or available only to people that you designate. This non-profit foundation vows to "keep your story forever," although the permanent storage option comes with a reasonable price tag. A basic free story service is also available with 250MB space, which will remain accessible as long as your account is active.
Famiva.com. The collaborative family tree feature on the free Famiva social networking site makes it easy for you and your family members to build a family tree together, complete with profiles and photos. You can also upload, organize and share family photos; share family news, events, stories and recipes; and create family maps. The interface is simple, but the service is free with unlimited storage.
GeneTree.com. This DNA-enabled family history sharing Web site integrates genetic genealogy with digital media software - sort of a DNA Facebook. Online software allows families to build and collaborate on family trees, as well as to share digital videos, photos and memories. The site also offers a genealogy DNA testing service, and notifies you of a DNA connection with others in the database, providing the opportunity to make a connection with that individual if you wish. Alternatively, you can enter DNA test results obtained from another testing lab.
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