In the latest episode of the ExtremeGenes podcast, FamilySearch chief genealogical officer David Rencher talked about why we are required to log in to FamilySearch and what we can expect on the website in 2018.
During the episode’s second segment, Mr. Rencher explained the reason behind the need to set up a free account and log in since December 13, 2017. “So this is not about revenue, this is about contractual obligations that we have with our guys throughout the world. We’re now in an electronic format rather than a microfilm format. … They’re requiring us to be able to identify users of their records.”
The good news for genealogists about needing to set up a free account is that is unlocks some, but not all, of the restricted record sets that we have not been able to view online before.
Podcast host Scott Fisher also talks during the episode with David Lambert, chief genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Janet Hovorka from Family ChartMasters, and Tom Perry of the Preservation Authority.
You can listen to the podcast and read the transcript on the ExtremeGenes website.
I’m interested in finding out tip and tricks for using the website. I’ve been using it for quite a while, but I’m sure there’s lots to learn.
This blog post by Linda Elliott on Mad About Genealogy may interest you — https://www.madaboutgenealogy.com/familysearch-using-the-search-facility/