Forum | PolishOrigins :: View topic - LDS films being made available online

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dshizak

Joined: 26 Jul 2012
Replies: 43

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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:48 pm Post subject: LDS films being made available online

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

rsowa
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Joined: 09 Nov 2013
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Location: Dundee, Michigan, USA
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:31 pm Post subject:

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.

mcdonald0517
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Joined: 27 May 2012
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 9:33 pm Post subject:

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

rsowa
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Joined: 09 Nov 2013
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Location: Dundee, Michigan, USA
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 10:14 pm Post subject:

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.

introibo
PolishOrigins Patron

Joined: 25 Oct 2013
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 9:16 pm Post subject:

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?

rsowa
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Joined: 09 Nov 2013
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Location: Dundee, Michigan, USA
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:24 pm Post subject:

introibo wrote:

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.

introibo
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Joined: 25 Oct 2013
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:18 am Post subject:

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.

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