FamilySearch at Family History Centers. FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing millions of names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your family history research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; others have been extracted from original sources. The Family History Library and many Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch. A few FamilySearch resource files—for example, the U.S. Social Security Death Index and the U.S. Military Index—are found on the Family History Library and Family History Center version of FamilySearch, but not on the FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service.

Family History Library and Family History Center computers with FamilySearch do not have access to the Internet or computer on-line services, networks, or bulletin boards. Those services are available at many public libraries, college libraries, and private locations. Limited access to the Internet is available on a few computers in the Automated Resource Center in the Family History Library.

FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service. The Internet site at www.familysearch.org allows you to preserve your genealogy, order Family History Library publications, learn research strategies, and look for information about your ancestors in the following resources:

Ancestral File, a file of more than 35 million names organized into families and pedigrees.

International Genealogical Index, an index of more than 600 million names extracted out of vital records primarily from the British Isles, North America, and northern Europe.

Family History Library Catalog, a description and classification of over 2 million microfilm reels and hundreds of thousands of genealogical books. You can search the catalog by family name, locality, author, book title, or film number.

SourceGuide, a resource that contains a collection of over 150 “how-to” research outlines for states, nations, or genealogy topics; an extensive glossary of word meanings; and a catalog helper.

Family History Centers, a list of locations where you can order the microfilms described in the Family History Library Catalog and SourceGuide.

Web Sites, a categorized list of thousands of links to Internet sites related to family history.

Collaboration Lists, a link to user-created mailing lists of researchers interested in similar genealogy topics.