PROVO, Utah — Learning how to find and search computer screens was the order of the day at the annual BYU Computerized Genealogy Conference March 13-15.

Church's FamilySearch site has been designed to be accessible for beginners and experts, and its extensive and easily used Research Guidance benefits both. Included in the resources are a Glossary for language translation, and Gazetteer for locating places of the past.

More than 340 people from throughout the United States attended and were given sites and insights by 20 experts in nearly 50 sessions about online and CD research. Seminars ranged from instructions to experts to how-tos for beginners. Representative of these was research consultant Barbara Renick's session on "FamilySearch Internet: A Beginner's Tour."

The Church's FamilySearch site, she explained, has been designed to help people find family history information while in the comfort of their own homes, offering ample helps to both beginners and professionals. Finding family members on the Internet is easier than finding them on microfilm, and it can be done in smaller slices of time. The site is also designed to bring together people who may be interested in the same ancestral lines.

And FamilySearch is a work in progress, she noted. "The web site is a growing, evolving site and often changes."

But with a little guidance, a rewarding experience awaits the beginner.

"The most useful section and the least explored is the Research Guidance section," she said. "This is like having a professional genealogist at your beck and call 24/7."

The Research Guidance button tells beginners how to begin, explains search strategies and how to use such online resources such as maps. It also can provide a historical overview of the time period of the current search. The site's home page has more than two dozen places to click for information.

To begin a search

Four main tabs lead the page: HOME, SEARCH, SHARE AND LIBRARY.

The most used tab searching for individuals is SEARCH, which brings up a blue page with multiple search boxes that can be used to mix and match, narrow or broaden the search. Dutifully filling in every box is not the most effective way to search. Rather, those boxes should be filled in that will narrow the search to a reasonable length. The researcher should bear in mind that there are about 1 billion names online at this site and chances are good that with the right search, some information will be found. In speeding up the search of a long list, a helpful Internet feature is located under the edit tab, called Find (on This Page).

It is also wise to search with possible variations of spellings. Many of the records have been extracted and the records are subject to human error or changes in spelling. On this screen, the Web sites button will connect the user with other useful Internet sites.

Under the SHARE tab, a brown page opens where users can click on "I need to register" in the column on the left, share information and enter their e-mail address so that all who are doing similar research may communicate with each other. Users who are members of the Church who want access to ordinance information can, during registration, add their membership record number and confirmation date — which can be obtained from the local ward or branch membership clerk — and gain access to ordinance information on the online International Genealogical Index (IGI).

Additional searching

Under the LIBRARY tab, a person can find information about the Church's Family History Library, and its vast resources to help search a family tree. Perhaps one of the most valuable parts of the Library tab is the Family History Library Catalog. This is the key to everything the library has. A useful starting point for the beginner is the PLACE search in the catalog. Names can be truncated, or shortened, for a broader search.

Using Research Guidance here, for example, will inform the researcher that all country names are in English, while all places within a country are in that country's language.

Also listed under the LIBRARY tab are a search bar to help locate a local family history center, and information about family history education. The Education tab lists classes, conferences and institutes, home-study courses and publications.

More information

In the upper right corner of the home page are: Feedback, Site Map, Glossary and Help. Clicking Feedback, a user can register, the same as noted previously, and submit queries. The Glossary is a multi-language dictionary that will translate words from other languages into English. A word can be cut and pasted into the glossary to find its definition. The Site Map button brings up a list of sites in FamilySearch, to which the user can easily navigate directly instead of winding back through previous screens. The Help button gives preliminary instructions, then has an additional help button at the end of these instructions with more explanations.

Clicking on the top of the home page "News" tab will bring up a screen listing new developments on the site and in print. And the Order/Download Products button allows a user to connect to the Church's Distribution Center purchasing site.