The move to the Web is a conceptual leap for the LDS Church, despite the fact that it has taken the lead in exploring new technology in the past. The original release of FamilySearch a decade ago was one of the first instances of genealogical data on CD-ROM, and included the first major electronic lineage-linked database and the only such database to use records linkage technology to merge contributor files. (See page 32 for more information). In the past few years, however, the LDS Church has lagged behind private enterprise both in Internet presence and in genealogical database managers, continuing to produce DOS-based PAF long after the release and public acceptance of Windows-based software.

Most ascribe the unhurried production schedules of the LDS Church’s Family History Department to its cautious philosophy–a Windows version of PAF, for example, would not go over well in thousands of family history centers across the United States and Canada. Centers containing older machines would be unable to run cutting-edge software. The same dilemma could confront many LDS Church members with older machines. By the same token, a premature move to the Internet could represent real problems with regard to database security and infrastructure.

Whatever the delays, there is no doubt that the public response to the new Web site and PAF 4.0 has been tremendous. Millions upon millions of searches have been logged in the new system in the weeks since its debut. So much traffic has been received, in fact, that initial site stability suffered as a result. Mass-media coverage of the offering has also been high, including reports on nationwide radio, television, and print media.

Moreover, an online version of FamilySearch has more benefits than cost. There is certainly no question that FamilySearch on the Internet will be more convenient than its predecessor. Databases like the Ancestral File and the International Genealogical Index™ are extremely large. Since networked versions of the CD-ROM-based collection are few and far-between, most of us have been switching CD-ROMs as we navigate around. Most importantly, the Internet-based service and downloadable software is now available at home, a real boon to those researchers who live far from a family history center or who have had trouble getting products through LDS Distribution.

The benefits of "online" go even further. Improvements in functionality and speed do not involve the re-mastering and distribution of tens of thousands of CD-ROMs or the installation hassles such updates invariably cause when they arrive. Bug fixes or improvements to PAF can be made available as maintenance patches which download and install with comparative ease. Even new databases (and database updates) can be added to the Web site without bother to the end user.

A Few Details
FamilySearch, whether on CD-ROM or the Internet, has always been an umbrella term, describing a somewhat disparate collection of materials. Below is a brief list of features now available online with a description for each item:

• Ancestral File.
  A popular database of some 35 million individuals linked together into families and pedigrees. Created from submissions from church membership and the general public. Data contained in this version of the file is the same as release 4.19 on CD-ROM. Internet version allows users to upload their own GEDCOM files for future inclusion. Users can search the file by first and last name with additional filters for spouse and parents’ names, Ancestral File number, and years of birth, christening, marriage, death, or burial.
• International Genealogical Index (IGI).
  The largest genealogical index in the world. Comprised of submissions by LDS Church members and various vital records indexes extracted by volunteer staff. The online version of IGI presently contains indexes for North America, Finland, and the British Isles (roughly sixty percent of the CD-ROM based version). Users must search by geographic region and first and last name with additional filters available for spouse and parents’ names, year of event (birth, christening, etc.), and batch/serial/film number. Additional regions will be released in the future.
• Family History Library Catalog™ (FHLC).
  Electronic card catalog of the collections of the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Imperative when accessing the Church’s massive collection of microfilmed records. The index allows users to search by locality, surname, call number, film/fiche number, or author. Please note that the index does not indicate availability of films in branch family history centers.
• Family History Center Locator.
  Guide to locating addresses and phone numbers of branch family history centers in a given geographic area. Users may filter their search by country, state/province, county, and city.
• SourceGuide™.
  Online version of popular CD-ROM from the LDS Church containing a terms glossary, foreign word lists, the Catalog Helper (suggests records to search based on geographic area and research goal), and the full texts of the LDS Research Outlines. These outlines supply researchers with basic information on research and sources for the United States, various foreign countries, and other topics.
• Web Sites Search.
  A keyword search of other Web sites on the Internet. Users search by region, site category, or surname, and can filter their search by various attributes.
• Collaboration Lists.
  A collection of over 50,000 discussion lists categorized by topic, surname, locality, or specific ancestor. Discussion takes place via e-mail. Archives not currently viewable.
• Personal Ancestral File 4.0.
  Freely downloadable Windows-based genealogical database manager. Though slightly buggy in its initial release, a great improvement over the former DOS version. Based on popular software program Ancestral Quest 3.0 from the Hope Foundation, formerly Incline Software. Available at http://www.familysearch.org/OtherResources/paf4/.
• Unanswered Questions
  For now, genealogists are overjoyed with the FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service, though it does lag behind its CD-ROM counterpart in a few areas. At the present time the most obvious difference between the two products other than user interface is the fact that the Internet version does not contain all databases available on CD. Users can probably forgive the LDS Family History Department for not including the Social Security Death Index or Military Index in the initial release, as these databases are available elsewhere on the Web. But other offerings such as the Scottish Old Parochial Registers (OPR) Index or other regions of the IGI are in high demand. Also, many users miss the browsability of the church’s indexes on CD-ROM–a feature difficult to duplicate in the HTML world.

Ironically, at the same time the LDS Church’s Family History Department has made more data available to the public than any other year in history, it has also been rather tight-lipped about its offering. Genealogists would like to know how aggressively the department will add new data to the online service. Many also wonder whether the new media will enable the Church to update databases like the IGI and Ancestral File more often. As public response to the service has been overwhelming and to some degree unexpected, will the church have to charge for the service in the future? And if the church continues to develop its Internet site, what are plans for the CD-ROM version of FamilySearch?

Despite these nagging fears, however, researchers are happy with what is now available. Given the deliberate nature of the LDS Church’s genealogical activities, it would seem reasonable that other features and databases might well follow the initial release. Free and convenient access to the Ancestral File, IGI, FHLC, and PAF 4.0 is certainly a valuable contribution to the community, whatever the future may hold. In any case, most genealogists would agree that online research has taken a great step forward.