news-record.com

Anyone looking to uncover the roots of their family tree can do so more easily thanks in part to a new program offered through the Greensboro Public Library.

Ancestry -- Library Edition, an intensive database software program offered by Ancestry.com, is available at all city library branches. The program is a conglomeration of more than 4,000 genealogical databases at your fingertips, said Arthur Erickson, a genealogical librarian at Central Library. Users are able to comb through census data, vital, court, military and immigration records from across the country with some scans of documents available online.

Limited information is also available from records from the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

"A lot of the historical content is derived from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, which is run through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," Erickson said. "This gives (us) access to the largest collection of genealogical material on the planet -- a search for a single name accesses so much information."

Unlike other databases the library offers, Ancestry -- Library Edition cannot be accessed remotely because of contractual agreements. Erickson said the library's contract for the database runs annually and the decision to renew would be based on how much use it gets.

The program is in addition to other genealogy materials available at the library including microfilm, how-to books, methodologies, directories, family histories and genealogical records.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7157 or rseals@news-record.com