Doing Family History? Go to an Archive

'If it's not on Google, it doesn't exist.' While many of us love to sit in front of our computers and try Google keyword after Google keyword to find what we want, if we really want to dig deep into our family's past, we'll eventually have to go to an archive and look at real records.

While archive hours are not always convenient and the records relevant to you may not be nearby, there are definite limits to what you can find online. This is improving each year, but don't expect it to all be on your screen any time soon. Most archives have budgetary restrictions that prevent then from describing everything in their collections, let alone posting it online. This means it could be years before the precise record you need shows up in a search engine database.

Despite the obvious benefit of going to an archive: that you might find a record about your family history, there are other pluses to going in. By visiting the place where records are housed you will learn a lot about what types of records are out there and how they're organized or described. For instance, you may discover that an archival finding aid for a church register mentions that it contains lists of parishioners. When you look at that record you may find your great grandfather, whereas no search of Google would turn up the same and no mention of your surname appeared in the finding aid.

Taking the time to visit your archives and learning how they work will help you bridge the gap between a novice and a skilled genealogist. Because there's only so far the internet can take you on your search - for now.

Are your friends secretly genealogy buffs?

You might be surprised to learn a few of your friends are also searching for their family roots. It's not always something that comes up in casual conversation, so next time you're out for a pint with your pals, ask them if they've ever dappled in genealogy. If you're lucky enough to find someone who has, they might have had a similar problem to one you're currently facing.
Or, they might have some great ideas of where else to look, how to display your results, or programs and websites that can come in handy. There's nothing like the experience of someone you can trust to teach you new tricks.

The genealogical world is bigger than you might think.