A New Item For Your Toolbox

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Genealogy, the Internet, and Your Genealogy Computer Program. Updated edition Updated Edition

For any of you who are looking to update your personal, genealogy reference library, I highly recommend this book.  It is available at Amazon.com to purchase ($43.50), Buy used ($24.83) or, surprisingly, to Rent.

Genealogical.com has the following to say about this research tool:

The modern world of genealogy combines the traditional methods of research with the awesome power of computers and the Internet, a combination so powerful that it has transformed the way we do genealogy. The purpose of this book, therefore, is to train the researcher in this new methodology, tying the fundamentals of genealogical research to the infrastructure of computers and websites. In other words, it is a manual for modern genealogy--designed for the beginner but useful even to the most seasoned researcher.

... the book contains guidelines for using public libraries, courthouses, and archives. It also explains how to use LDS Family History Centers and the Regional Records Services Facilities of the National Archives, and it provides a step-by-step guide for using the records in each facility, including background information showing how to obtain vital, probate, military, immigration, and census records--all carefully coordinated with the ever-present backdrop of computers and the Internet.

Family history research is a process.  If the goal is to find one's ancestors, then, somewhere along the line, we all have to learn how to do that effectively, and this reference guide is one of the most respected in the field.  It would be a great addition to any genealogy library.