LDS Genealogy Technology Going Forward

Since this is where I'm hoping to find information on future technology - I thought this would be a good place to ask this question:

What are the REAL plans going forward for LDS technologies supporting Genealogy research?

I'm hearing that Family History Centers are being closed and all researchers will be directed to web-based resources. This brings up a whole host of additional questions in re. Ancestry.com competition, what resources will be available, what is the roll-out date, what about temple-ready and etc. Any heads up on these questions would be much appreciated.

galstuk wrote:Since this is where I'm hoping to find information on future technology - I thought this would be a good place to ask this question:

What are the REAL plans going forward for LDS technologies supporting Genealogy research?

I'm hearing that Family History Centers are being closed and all researchers will be directed to web-based resources. This brings up a whole host of additional questions in re. Ancestry.com competition, what resources will be available, what is the roll-out date, what about temple-ready and etc. Any heads up on these questions would be much appreciated.

Well, if you haven't already, I would search the forum for threads relating to the New FamilySearch site that is rolling out (sometimes abbreviated nFS or NFS). It is the new big thing and it will make TempleReady obsolete. I guess you could call it an upgrade that better competes with Ancestry.com.

FHC aren't going anywhere anytime soon. There are subscription services that are available free in a FHC that you'd have to pay for if you tried to access them from home. Yes, things are going more web based now, but there's still need for training and not every one has a computer in their home.

Agreed with Russell, though you might of heard that you do not need to go to the FHC anymore to submit names. That is correct though for learning how to research and being able to research if you do not have access to a computer will all still be done at the FHCs.

I do think that a real good point was made in starting this thread though. In a lot of different church aspects it's not to difficult to get some idea of what's currently going on or where things are going, but when it comes to Family History, even though there's a lot of information available, it's normally not all in one place and there are normally large gaps in what can be easily located.

In some ways (unfortunately) this site itself is a reflection of that. ICS is represented very well here while FH is barely visible. The same with the fliers that went out a while back - they were obviously ICS in nature, which that's fine and it's nice to see ICS being proactive, but it would be nice to hear from FH. In some respects, it's starting to feel a bit like FH needs a PR department or something (maybe they have one but it just isn't handling this kind of PR?).

If there was some way we could get a detailed steady flow of info from FH (vs users reporting what they've scraped together) headed into 1 or more threads in these forums, I'd count that as a real plus.

gblack wrote:I do think that a real good point was made in starting this thread though. In a lot of different church aspects it's not to difficult to get some idea of what's currently going on or where things are going, but when it comes to Family History, even though there's a lot of information available, it's normally not all in one place and there are normally large gaps in what can be easily located.

In some ways (unfortunately) this site itself is a reflection of that. ICS is represented very well here while FH is barely visible. The same with the fliers that went out a while back - they were obviously ICS in nature, which that's fine and it's nice to see ICS being proactive, but it would be nice to hear from FH. In some respects, it's starting to feel a bit like FH needs a PR department or something (maybe they have one but it just isn't handling this kind of PR?).

If there was some way we could get a detailed steady flow of info from FH (vs users reporting what they've scraped together) headed into 1 or more threads in these forums, I'd count that as a real plus.

I agree. It would be very nice for the FH department to be more engaging; not to compete with Ancestry.com, but to raise more interest and spark more curiosity about all of the great stuff the church is doing with Family History! The church is doing some amazing things with family history right now, but most members don't have a clue what they are much less those who are not members of the church.

Nick

I'm hearing that Family History Centers are being closed and all researchers will be directed to web-based resources.

The church recently began a program (see link below) where service missionaries provide telephone support from home for family history related inquiries. I see this as an additional support channel for the family history work rather than a replacement for the existing family history centers. This also allows the church to leverage the considerable talents and knowledge of many members who's situation is typified in the article example.

Article: New Opportunity Allows More Members to Serve, December 5, 2007 — News from the Church