Disc Combines Several Sources

Sun., June 28, 1998

Donna Potter Phillips The Spoke

Great news. The Family History SourceGuide is now available. I mentioned the disc in a column two weeks ago, but thought you might like to know more about this new genealogy reference.

The Family History SourceGuide is a CD-ROM product, and the first automated Windows product of its kind produced by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Users type in a place where their ancestor lived and what they would like to learn (sources to check to find a birthdate or place, marriage, military and information on living relatives …).

While the disc will not show information about individuals, it does list the types of records and sources needed to find the requested information. The CD is designed for those who already know basic information about their ancestors, but now need to search original sources to complete their personal records.

This is automated knowledge about how to do genealogy, said Steve Fox, product manager for SourceGuide.

Many of the guides available in SourceGuide were first published nearly a decade ago to facilitate use of the Family History Library Catalog, which indexes the vast records made available through the library.

This new CD now combines these documents into one automated product. The old “Research Outlines” for all 50 states, plus many countries of the world, are included on this CD disk, along with many extras.

SourceGuide also includes an “Address List” for 1,000 major Family History Centers located all over the world, “Letter-Writing Guides” (to help researchers request records from non-English speaking countries) and more than 20 blank forms and census worksheets.

There are maps for the countries of the British Isles and Ireland, and a “Word Meanings” list, defining more than 1,700 genealogy-related words.

The disk also contains “Research Guides” to help folks better use the Family History Library and Family History Centers. SourceGuide gives specific instructions on how to use the FamilySearch databases.

A final goody on this disk is the “Catalog Helper.” Based on an individuals research goal, this guide identifies the best subjects to search in the Family History Library Catalog. This library catalog is part of the FamilySearch program, available only at the Family History Library and its small branches of Family History Centers.

The colorful Family History SourceGuide was designed to be appealing as well as functional, says Fox.

SourceGuide system requirements are: Pentium processor, Windows 95 or NT4.0+, 8 MG RAM minimum, CD-ROM drive, VGA monitor with 256-color-capable video card, and 30 MG hard disk space.

Order the SourceGuide through the Salt Lake Distribution Center, (800) 537-5971 (credit card only), or P.O. Box 25488, Salt Lake City, UT 84125-0488. The price is $20.

The disk is also available in Spokane at Ancestors Plus, 825 W. Garland.

I’ll bet the Family History SourceGuide will become a reference none of us can do without.

Today’s Tip: Did you miss the first year of Family Chronicle magazine? All six issues, September 1996 through August 1997, plus 40 pages of new material and bonus articles, are available as one publication for $20, plus $5 postage, from Family Chronicle magazine. Call toll-free: (888) FAM-CHRO, or mail your check to P.O. Box 1201, Lewiston, N.Y. 14092-9934.

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