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

Family History Library and Family History Center computers with FamilySearch do not have access to Internet online services, networks, or bulletin boards. Those services are available at many public libraries, college libraries, and private locations. You can get limited access to the Internet 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 over 35 million names organized into families and pedigrees.

International Genealogical Index. An index of over 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, title, subject, book number, film number, or computer number.

SourceGuide. 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. Internet sites related to family history. The familysearch.org site contains a categorized list of thousands of sites you can link to.

Collaboration Lists. User-created mailing lists of researchers interested in similar genealogical topics. The familysearch.org site links you to these lists.