PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: LDS films being made available online

introibo — Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:18 am

Author: introibo

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:18 am

Cynthia, you can also go to the link above, and do a blank search (i.e. nothing in the box) and check "online" in the drop down menu. Then you can narrow down, mainly by checking "Polish" on the left (maybe also "Russian", haven't tried that...then narrowing down from that with "birth registers" etc...It gives a much more manageable list.

Re: LDS films being made available online

rsowa — Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:24 pm

Author: rsowa

Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:24 pm

introibo wrote:

I went to the search page and found a parish I'm interested in that says "online" but when I click on the link, it says, under location, "Family History Center." Does this mean that I can't view it at home but I would be able to view it at a Family History Library?

Ah...yep, I have found the same thing. From what I have found, you need to go to your local affiliated family history center...most often that is your local library...the same place that receives the microfilms when you order them. In my my case, any branch of my local library system is able to access the files. Of course, you need to visit the library, and log into their local wifi network, and then you have complete access to those records.

Re: LDS films being made available online

introibo — Fri Jan 13, 2017 9:16 pm

Author: introibo

Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 9:16 pm

I went to the search page and found a parish I'm interested in that says "online" but when I click on the link, it says, under location, "Family History Center." Does this mean that I can't view it at home but I would be able to view it at a Family History Library?

Re: LDS films being made available online

rsowa — Tue Jan 10, 2017 10:14 pm

Author: rsowa

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 10:14 pm

mcdonald0517 wrote:

Thanks for this information. How do I know which films have been digitized in family search? I can't seem to find any way to access the digitized films on the family search website.

Cynthia

Cynthia...the only way to find them is to go to https://familysearch.org/catalog/search and enter the village or parish you are searching. Then, with the search results displayed, you can see which films are available online or still need to be ordered on microfilm.

Re: LDS films being made available online

mcdonald0517 — Tue Jan 10, 2017 9:33 pm

Author: mcdonald0517

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 9:33 pm

Thanks for this information. How do I know which films have been digitized in family search? I can't seem to find any way to access the digitized films on the family search website.

Cynthia

Re: LDS films being made available online

rsowa — Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:31 pm

Author: rsowa

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:31 pm

Dave...you are right, I discovered the same thing. I also learned a little more about it.

Apparently they are focusing on digitizing the most popular microfilms first (those that are requested for loan the most often). According to what I have read online, at http://www.ancestryinsider.org/2016/07/turning-model-upside-down-byugen-byufhgc.html they want complete the digitization within three years! If true, that would be incredible.

One more thing that surprised me. If a particular microfilm includes records that are not supposed to be accessible (due to the laws of the jurisdiction), then the ENTIRE film will not be digitized...even if only a single frame of the film is restricted. Apparently the workload to filter the digital images would be too enormous and expensive.

Bottom line, keep doing familysearch catalog searches for your ancestor's parishes, or villages, and you might be surprised. While they are digitized, they are still not searchable, since they have not been indexed.

LDS films being made available online

dshizak — Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:48 pm

Author: dshizak

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:48 pm

This might have been posted, but just in case it is new to someone:

I have in the past month or so discovered a couple of the LDS films for Polish villages are now online at the FamilySearch website. I am not sure at what pace they are making these available, but if you know the film number or village, it does not hurt to keep checking. One of the ones I found was the same film that my cousin rented several years ago for viewing at the local LDS center. I was able to double check some info that we didn't know to look for back then.

Hope this helps,
Dave