Family History Library Catalog ExerciseEdit This Page

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Study Material Questions

Study Material

• FamilySearch Wiki: Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog
• FamilySearch Wiki: Abbreviations in the Family History Library Catalog
• FamilySearch Wiki: Deciphering Family History Library Catalog Entries

Instructions: Print a paper copy of this exercise on which you can write answers. Use the Wiki article Introduction to the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers needed to fill in the blanks in each of the statements 1 to 6 . Write the answer on the blank lines.

1. The Family History Library Catalog ________________________the records in the collection at the Family History Library.

2. Most microfilm and microfiche records can be _______________ to your nearest Family History Center.

3. Before you use the Family History Library Catalog, choose a person about whom you want to find more information, and decide what you want to __________________ about him or her.

4. Place Search Look for a record by the name of a _______________ where an ancestor lived.

5. Surname Search Find family histories (and more) by a particular _________________ name.

6. Subject Search To discover works based on the ___________________________ they cover.

Instructions: Use the Wiki article Family History Library Catalog Place Search to find the answers needed to fill in the blanks in each of the statements 7 to 12. Write the answer on the blank lines.

7. The names of countries are in English. The names of states, provinces, regions, ___________, and other jurisdictions are in the language of the country.

8. To search for a county, do __________ type the word "County" as a part of the search term. For example, to find Fairfax county, Virginia, type Fairfax in the "Place" field and Virginia in the "Part of" field.

9. If a place-name has more than one word, you do not need to type ____________ of the words. Nor do you have to type them in exact order. The computer automatically finds all places with the word or words that you type, no matter where in the place-name they appear.

10. To search for a city, for example, you do ___________ need to type the name of the country, state, and county before the name of the city.

11.What If I Do Not Find the Place I Want? . . . Search for records using a _______________ jurisdiction. For example, if you cannot find records for a town, search for county records.

12. How Do I Find Related Places? . . . The "Contains" field, which lists places ___________ by the place you searched for. For example, if you search for a county, the "Contains" field lists cities in that county.

Instructions: Use the Wiki article Family History Library Catalog Surname Search to find the answers needed to fill in the blanks in each of the statements 13 to 17. Write the answer on the blank lines.

13. Use a Surname Search to find a work 'about' a specific family or person, such as a .  .  . ● pedigree for example De ________________________ Pedigree Chart, ca.519 A.D.-1975

14. How Do I Understand the Results of a Surname Search? . . . You can choose to view the results list in order by title, or in order by author using ______________________ at the bottom of the results list.

15. For long results lists there is also an option to ______________ to a record (title) number you specify.

16. Strategies for Using a Surname Search . . . Library catalogers usually add to the Surname Search about ______________ surnames from families that marry into the main family for a typical family history.

17. So it is normal to find a book via the Surname Search which is primarily about another family and only _____________________ mentions the surname you searched.

Instructions: Use the Wiki article Family History Library Catalog Author Search to find the answers needed to fill in the blank in statement 18. Write the answer on the blank lines.

18. You can also truncate the __________________ name. For example, if you typed Cann in the "Last Name" field and George in the "First Name" field without finding the right one, try typing Cann in the "Last Name" field and G in the "First Name" field.

Instructions: Use the Wiki article Family History Library Catalog Subject Search to find the answers needed to fill in the blanks in statement 19. Write the answer on the blank lines.

19. Do a Subject Search when you want to find Library of Congress subject headings, which include such items as the names of native races (Blacks, Chippewa Indians, and so forth), _______________________ (Swedes, Australians), occupations (painters, shipbuilders, and so forth), __________________________ groups (Quakers, Baptists, and so forth), and languages (Danish, Japanese, and so forth).

Instructions: Use the Wiki article Abbreviations in the Family History Library Catalog to find the answer needed to answer question 20. Write the answer on the blank line.

20. What does the Family History Library Catalog abbreviation S.l. mean? _________________

Instructions: Use the Wiki article Deciphering Family History Library Catalog Entries to find the answer needed to fill in the blank in statement 21. Write the answer on the blank line.

21. References Names of other titles _____________________ to the item. To view a title, click on the underlined text in this field.

Place Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Use the "Search" specified in the heading above the question. Write the answer in the space after the question.

22. What film number has Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico, cemetery records?

23. Do a Place Search for Ontario in the "Place" field. The Place Search Results screen should list several places with the name Ontario in them. Some will be a province/state, some will be a county, and some will be a town/township. You can tell which is which by their position in the line. If Ontario is first on the line it is a province (or state). If Ontario is second on the line it is a county. If Ontario is the third phrase on the line it is a town or township. Look at the following list and decide whether each line is for a Province, a County, or a Town. After each line on the following list wirte P for Province, C for County, and T for Town.

a. Ontario
b. California, San Bernardino, Ontario
c. New York, Ontario
d. New York, Wayne, Ontario
e. Ohio, Richland, Ontario
f. Ontario, Ontario
g. Oregon, Malheur, Ontario
h. Pennsylvania, Ontario
j. Illinois, Knox, Ontario Township

24. Using Place Search only, find who wrote the History of Harvey County [Kansas] 1871-1881?

25a. How many vital record indexes are listed for the state of Kentucky?
25b. Find the item for marriage indexes of Kentucky for 1973-1995. On the bottom of the Title Details screen find the sentence, "For a printable version of this record click here then click your browser's Print button." Click the here word, and print the catalog entry. At the end of this exercise attach the printout to this exercise.

26. Use the Place Search to work your way to the Title Details screen of the entry for Horki (Drohiczyn), Polesie, Poland. Go to the bottom of the Title Details screen and make a printable version. Print the entry and add it to the end of this exercise.

27. How many county histories are listed for Muskingum County, Ohio? (Note: Do NOT use the word "County" in the search.)

28. Print the "printable version" of the county history of Lander County, Nevada. Add it to the end papers.

29. Using only the Place Search, what is the former name of Dayton, Washington?

30. What county will you find Lincoln County, Tennessee, under before 1809?

31. What town name will records of Buchach, Alberta, be found under?

32a. Find Douglas County, Nevada. On the Place Details screen, how many topics are listed for Douglas County, Nevada?
32b. On the Place Details screen for Douglas, Nevada, click the View Related Places button. How many towns are listed in Douglas County, Nevada?
32c. On the Related Places screen click the blue underlined state of Nevada. On the Place Details screen for Nevada how many statewide topics are there altogether? Hint: The number of topics are counted at the bottom of the screen.
32d. What is the very last topic for the whole state of Nevada? (You must go to the second Place Details screen to see it)
32e. Now click the View Related Places button. How many counties are there in Nevada?

33a. Use the Place Search to find the city of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Place Details screen. In what year was Philadelphia laid out?
33b. Under References, click on the (See also) blue underlined Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Manayunk. In what year was Manayunk formed?
33c. How many topics are listed for Manayunk?
33d. How many titles are listed in the topic Manayunk - Church records?
33e. How many titles are listed in the topic Manayunk - History?

Surname Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version Surname Search of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Write the answer in the space after the question.

34a. How many ZWINGLI family histories are listed?
34b. What is the full book call number of the ZWINGLI family history written in English?
34c. What year did the ZWINGLI family in this book move to America?
34d. To what town did they move in America?
34e. From what nation did the family come to America?
34f. From what nation did the family come before about 1650?
34g. What are five alternate spellings listed for ZWINGLI?
34h. What year was the book published?
34j. What is the film call number for the same book?

35. Find the Girardot family history by Michael Bray. What non-Girardot surnames are also included in the book?


36a. How many BROWN family histories (matching titles) in total are listed in the catalog? Hint: The number of matching titles are counted at the bottom of the Surname Search Title Search Results screen.
36b. At the bottom of the Title Search Results screen click the Order Results by Author button. Also at the bottom, in the "Get records from number:" field, type 1339 and click the Get records button. Who is the author that wrote record number 1339?
36c. You can use the "Get records from number" field and a little guess-work to locate a particular item in a long list. For example, the BROWN family histories are currently in order by author. Without using the [Previous results] or [Next results] buttons, use ONLY the "Get records from number" field to help find authors whose surname starts with R. To do this, figure out the ratio of where R is in an alphabet of 26 letters, and apply that ratio to the total number of matching titles. R is about 2/3 into the alphabet, so the first number to guess is about 2/3 of the total number of matching titles. Use a process of elimination to get closer and closer with your guesses in the "Get records from number" field to find the item you need. Who is the author of a BROWN family history whose last name is the first in the alphabet whose surname starts with R?

Keyword Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version Keyword Search of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Write the answer in the space after the question.

37. If you do a Keyword Search for ZWINGLI, how many titles are listed?

Title Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version Title Search of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Write the answer in the space after the question.

38. If you do a Title Search for ZWINGLI, how many titles are listed?

39. Use the Title Search to find Vikings of the Sunrise. Looking at the Title Details screen "Subjects," what part of the world is this book about?

Film/Fiche Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version Film/Fiche Search of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Write the answer in the space after the question.

40. If film 1036951 item 6 is not in the cabinet at the Family History Library, which book call number could you use to find the book on the shelf?

41a. What is the title on fiche 6300052?
41b. What years are covered?

Author Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version Author Search of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Write the answer in the space after the question.

42. Use the Author Search to search for Zwingli as part of the surname or corporate name. Look at the Author Search Results screen. From what you see, how many authors including the word Zwingli are (a) personal authors?         (b) How many are corporate authors?         (c)  What is the call number of the book written by the first personal author?

43a. How many authors have the name Johnson as part of the surname or corporate name? (Hint: See the bottom of the Author Search Results screen for a count.)
43b. Repeat the search with the letter P in the First Name field. How many authors with the surname Johnson have a first name or initial that starts with P?
43c. Click on the author Pearl H. Johnson, then click on the title of the book she helped write. It turns out this book is digitized and available on the Internet. View the digitized title page. In one sentence describe the image (non-words) on the title page.

Subject Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version Subject Search of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Write the answer in the space after the question.

44a. If you type American Loyalists in the Subject Search, how many matching subjects appear on the Subject Search Results screen?
44b. Who is the author of the book about Loyalists from Pennsylvania?
44c. What is the call number of the book about Pennsylvania Loyalists?

45. If you type Freemasons in the Subject Search, how many matching subjects appear on the Subject Search Results screen?

46a. If you type Huguenots New York in the Subject Search, how many matching subjects appear on the Subject Search Results screen?
46b. Click on Huguenots - New York. How many titles are under that subject?

47. If you type Methodists England in the Subject Search, how many matching subjects appear on the Subject Search Results screen?

48. What is the film number of the book about Italians in Florida?

49. If you type Confederate in the Subject Search, how many matching subjects appear on the Subject Search Results screen?

50. If you type Cherokee Indians in the Subject Search, how many matching subjects appear on the Subject Search Results screen?

Call Number Search

Instructions: Use only the Internet version Call Number Search of the Family History Library Catalog to find the answers. Write the answer in the space after the question.

51. What is the film number for the book with 929.273 L173e as the call number?

52. What is the name of the family on PEDIGREE no. 559?

53a. What is the film number for the compact disc with CD-ROM no. 460 as the call number?
53b. What is the book call number for the compact disc with CD-ROM no. 460 as the call number?

Other Useful Catalogs

In addition to the Family History Library Catalog on the Internet, two other catalogs may be especially useful when answering patron questions.

WorldCat

WorldCat [World Catalog] is a network of library catalogs from around the world, but especially in the United States and Canada. If a far away patron needs to know where they can view a copy of a book nearer their home, WorldCat may help. WorldCat does NOT include the Family History Library Catalog.

54. Open the Internet and in the URL address field type www.WorldCat.org and tap [Enter]. In the WorldCat search field type Reesor Family in Canada and click the Search everything button. In the search results find and click on The Reesor family in Canada : genealogical and historical records 1804-2000. Scroll down to see the list of libraries with a copy of this book. What is the name of the library with a copy of this book that is the most distant from where you are?

DOS version of the Family History Library Catalog

If you have access to the DOS version of the Family History Library Catalog you can use it to find some information not available on the Internet version. The DOS version is not available in all areas.

Open the DOS FHL Catalog. You can do this at the Family History Library by going to the Patron Desktop "Find Ancestors" screen. Click Databases at the Family History Library. At the bottom of the screen (on some computers you may have to scroll down a bit) click Ancestral File (Jan 1998 - DOS version).

Surname Search with Added Keywords. When the "FamilySearch" screen appears tap the Enter key, tap the F key, and tap the C key to begin a Surname Search. In the Surname field type BROWN and tap the Enter key.

55a. How many BROWN family histories are listed?

Tap the F6 key, and in the Keyword #1 field type PENNSYLVANIA and in the Keyword #2 field type QUAK*, and then tap Enter.

55b. How many BROWN family histories are found with these two added keywords?

Tap the F7 key to view the titles found. Use the up and down arrows to move among the titles. Search among the titles to find the book on film about BROWN that was written by an author named Spooner. When you find it, tap F8 to view the full record.

55c. What is the film number for the the BROWN book written by Spooner?

Films on Indefinite Loan. At the "F8=Full Display" screen, move the highlight bar to the film number and tap Enter. This will display where copies of this film are on indefinite loan. Use the up and down arrows to view ALL the Centers that have a copy.

56. Which Family History Center is the farthest away Center listed with a copy of the film on indefinite loan?

Old (red) film number search. From time-to-time people find an old film number with a "pt" in it as a source on an old family group record. The DOS catalog can be used to find the modern film number.

In the DOS Catalog tap the F11 key, tap D. Film/Fiche Number Search. At the Film/Fiche Number search tap C to open the Old (Red) Film Number search. In the Old film Number: field type 1513, and in the Part Number: field type 2, and tap Enter.

57. What is the new Converted to Film Number?

To exit the DOS Catalog tap Esc, tap B. Exit this program, tap Esc=Exit, and tap Esc.


 

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  • This page was last modified on 2 January 2011, at 23:12.
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