Professional family

S
historians and data
collectors assemble
information from around
the globe regarding
individuals pasts for
eventual publication in
their online collection.

The records are

restored, indexed,
and digitized before
being published to
an online database
and saved on a
server

How is genealogy
research data made
available?

Copies of the digital

content can now be
made and sold,
donated, saved,
transferred, or
uploaded to genealogy
companies.

Relevant family history

information remains accessible
to users, while irrelevant
documents, or documents with
lost content due to damage, are
be deleted.
Creation begins again as
additional records are
discovered and collected

What happens to the

family history data
once it has been used?

Genealogy websites
market their services
to end users who
search their databases
for historical records
to grow their family
tree and share it with
other users.

How does a genealogy

website reproduce and
catalogue family history
data in a digital format?

Both the originator of the

record and the genealogy
company assign their
preferred controlled
vocabulary to the records
to make searching
friendly to their database
users.

Records will be organized

by the housing
organization based on
document type. Historical
societies will have different
organization than for profit
genealogy websites, etc.

By Rikki Carter

The genealogy company

stores the information
on large servers.
The database user may
choose to store their
individual research on
the website for future
visits.

Reference: Greer, R. C., Grover, R. J., & Fowler, S. G. (2007). Introduction to the library and information
professions. 2nd Ed. Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited, 59-77.

Customers use the

records they find to
build an accurate family
tree, discovering stories
of their ancestors and
building a deeper
understanding of their
roots.

How can a genealogy researcher

understand and use the
information found?

Professional genealogists
and family historians are
often made available for
assistance with
subscription services to
help users search
proficiently and clearly
understand the family
records they discover.