The videotape has almost no introduction. After three or four sentences, Barbara jumps directly into her presentation topics. She then presents the following topics:

• Portals – something for everyone. Barbara describes portals as being somewhat like newspapers; they try to offer something for everyone. Portals typically give a wide range of "how-to" information, search features, and lots of links to sites for specific interests.
• List of Links – The Internet has a number of sites that contain thousands of links to other specific sites. Barbara mentions some of the better-known sites and briefly shows how to use them.
• Search Engines – Barbara describes the operation of search engines and then shows how to use some of the more popular ones, including Alta Vista, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, IfoundIt.com, Search.com, and more. She also shows how to search for information about surnames, even when the surname is also a popular word in the English language. The example she used was "Mallard." She shows how to find information about the Mallard family without becoming inundated with information about duck decoys.
• Commercial Genealogy Sites, including Ancestry.com and GenealogyLibrary.com - Barbara explains how the commercial sites often can provide information not available on free sites. She also covers those sites that sell genealogy books and software, such as Appleton’s and Ancestral Quest.
• Reference Sites – Barbara shows how to use online lists of genealogical abbreviations and online dictionaries, both English dictionaries as well as those for other languages. She even shows how to have documents translated from one language to another at no charge.
• Indices and Collections – Barbara shows how to find online scanned images of original documents. One example she shows is how to sit at home and search the Digital Library of the Library of Virginia. In her example, Barbara was able to look at images of original, hand-written documents from the 1700s. She was even able to copy the image into her favorite genealogy program as a source reference.
• Surname Listings – There are a number of Web sites dedicated to specific surnames. Barbara describes several and then shows how to use Kindred Konnections, the Guild of One-Name Studies, and the RootsWeb Surname List.
• Genweb Projects and Webrings – No, these are not secret societies. They are sites or groups of sites dedicated to specific topics. There are many sites that specialize in specific geographic areas. Barbara describes the U.S. GenWeb as well as mentioning several others that cover other countries.
• Queries – Only a few years ago, the best method to find others who had knowledge about families or specific geographic areas was to write to one of the genealogy periodicals and ask them to print your query. Some magazines charged a modest fee for posting queries while others offered the service at no charge. Today’s online queries are always free. It now appears that the Internet contains more queries posted per day than what all the magazines can publish in a year! Barbara Renick shows how to post queries on some of the more popular Web sites. She also describes how to write a query in a manner that is likely to elicit results.
• GEDCOM Databases – You can post part or even all of your genealogy database to publicly-available online databases. Most of the sites allow users to quickly and easily search through thousands of submitted databases. Most will also allow you to download these files in GEDCOM format that can be imported into your genealogy program. (Always import into an empty database first until you examine and verify the data. Never import someone else’s questionable data into your primary genealogy database!)
• Online library catalogs – It is now easy to find book titles and call numbers for the books on the shelves at many major libraries. You can probably do this at home a day or two in advance, thereby maximizing your research time available when you arrive in the library. Barbara shows how to use some typical online library card catalogs.

During the entire one hour and twenty-five minutes of this videotape, Barbara Renick presents all her information in a clear and methodical manner. She even pokes a bit of fun at a couple of Web sites and then goes on to show the gems that can be found there. Her presentation technique works well on this introductory material.

The Guide to Genealogy Information On-line" videotape is oriented to genealogy newcomers as well as Internet newcomers. If either of these terms describes your level of expertise, this may be an excellent addition to your video library.

Barbara Renick’s Guide to Genealogy Information On-line is another product from The Studio. I have written about a number of other videotapes produced by this company. They now have quite a few titles available, featuring some of the leading genealogy experts of today. Barbara Renick’s Guide to Genealogy Information On-line sells for $14.95 (U.S. funds) plus taxes and shipping. For more information about this videotape or to order it on a safe and secure Web site, go to www.123genealogy.com.

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