Topics presented at 2002 BYU Annual Computerized Genealogy Conference

Family History Library Catalog Online

The Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) lists the records available at the world’s largest repository of genealogical records. The FHLC online should be used to prepare for a visit to a Family History Center as well as determining time periods and records that are currently available.

There are several versions of the catalog. The version in the Library itself may be more current. The FHLC is also available on home use CD-ROM, Family History Center CD-ROM, microfiche, and FHL network (in Salt Lake City). This presentation focuses on the online version at www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp.

You can search this version of the catalog by place, surname, author, subject, call number (books), or fiche or film number.

Place is the usual way to search the catalog. The idea is to search for records available for a certain place. The place search screen gives you two blank boxes. Enter the name of the place in the first box, then the name of a larger place that the place you are looking for is part of. For example, enter Las Vegas for the place and Nevada for part of. The "part of" is important when the place name is common, like Washington or Liberty. Try a search for Liberty leaving the "part of" blank. You should get over sixty different places.

Places are listed from large to small. That is, country, then state or province, then county or district, then town or parish. Thus, Las Vegas is listed as Nevada, Clark, Las Vegas. Once you find the proper place name, click on the name of the place. You will then see a list of the subject headings (topics) for which the FHL has records for that specific place. Click on a topic to see the records for that place and topic. If you want to see the details about that record, click on title. Use your back button to return and see the other records in that topic. Use the back button again to return back to the list of topics.

It is important to understand that records are cataloged under the jurisdiction level to which the records apply. Thus, county records are cataloged under the name of the county, while town records appear under the name of the town. What does this mean to the researcher?

If you look under England, Nottingham, Mansfield, you will find a list of church records for that parish. You look in the records listed and do not find your ancestor. Have you covered everything the library has for people living in that town? No. You then return to the catalog and look under England, Nottingham for record kept for the whole county (includes marriage licenses). But you still wouldn't be done--some records are cataloged under just England if they are kept by the national government (such as post-1837 marriage records).

For every place in the United States, check the catalog for the town, then check it for the county, then for the state. The same concept applies in other countries.

Surname looks for author's surnames, titles of books, and surname tracings. A surname tracing is for a record that list major surnames in that record. For example, a book on the Huxtable family might have a note saying "includes allied familes of Corfew, Mills, and Watkins." A surname search for any of those four surnames would bring back that book title. You can resort the titles by author's name by clicking on a button at the bottom.

Author allows you to search by author's name. You must enter the surname, but the first name is optional. You can use an initial, but don't use more than one initial. A search for Mann, C W will not find Charles W. Mann.

Subject is a keyword search, but searches keywords in the Library of Congress subject heading. It does not search keywords in the title or catalog description of the record. It is particularly useful for finding records listed for ethnic or religious groups. For example, try a subject search for Methodist. You will find over two hundred different subject headings, each of which may have dozens of records listed.

Call number is used to search for books in the library. FHL call numbers consist of a Dewey Decimal geographic decimal number followed by a classification and one or more small letters. The decimal number specifies the place the book relates to. For example, 942 is England and 942.51 is Derbyshire, England. The classification establishes the subject of the book within a general category, such as E4 (directories). A full call number might be 942.51 D27af. If you want to use the call number search to find other similar books, just drop the small letters off the end of the call number for your search (search for 942.51 K29).

Film/Fiche allows you to search by film or fiche number. Use this when you have a film or fiche number and don't know what it is. This often happens with source or printout numbers from the IGI. You can also use this feature to call up a catalog record for a series of films or fiche for which you have one number but need another part of that series. For example, you have A-E on one film, but you need the letter Y. Use the number of the film you have to call up the catalog record to see which letters are on which films.

IMPORTANT TIPS

Consider the following as you use the FHLC online:

Want a copy of the catalog record? Don't click the print button! Look at the bottom of the screen, where it probably says "For a printable version of this record, click here." Click there and then print. It will print title information and film number(s) rather than just one or the other.
When a number of record titles are returned, they appear in alphabetical order by the title as shown in the catalog. Sometimes the title is not what you expect (for example, an English parish register usually is listed as Church of England, parish of….).
Once a record is displayed, click on View Film Notes to get the microfilm number. If there is no View Film Notes button, then the source is not available on film or fiche.
Use View Related Places. This requires using the level above the one you want (e.g., you want a town, so find the county first—if you want a county, go to the state first). Can’t find Stanton le Vale in Lincoln, England? Just find Lincoln, then click on View Related Places to get a list of all the places in Lincoln mentioned in the FHLC. You will then find Stainton-le-Vale, Lincoln, England (note it has an i in it) in the list of places in Lincoln.
You may need to use an online gazetteer to know which county a place is in. For example, an FHLC search for Cour d’Alene, Idaho said no such place exists. The USGNS gazetteer told me that "Coer d’Alene" was in Kootenai county. Search Kootenai as the place (Idaho in the second box), then click on View Related Places. It shows that the FHLC spells it Coeur d’Alene (no, Coer d’Alene wouldn’t have worked, either).
When there are more than 50 results, only 50 will be displayed, and the total number of "hits" will be given. There will be a box at the bottom giving you the option to jump to later results. If there are hundreds of results, consider where your desired result would be in the list alphabetically.
A subject search returns subject headings, not records. Even though only a few subject headings may be returned, the number of records under those subject headings could be in the thousands.
The subject search itself is literal, not intelligent. Thus, a search for genealogy will yield only 448 hits even though virtual every subject heading in the FHLC has something to do with genealogy. There are only 448 different subject headings that actually contain the word genealogy.

©Copyright 1997-2002 by Alan E. Mann. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part of this syllabus material in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval, Internet or any computer bulletin board, , must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.

Back to Article Listings