Is your computer your enemy or your friend? Do you use your computer just for reading e-books, watching movies and sending emails? I want to take this opportunity to tell you that you live in amazing times. You have the world of information at your fingertips – and that includes for genealogy research. Even if you limit yourself to free sites such as FamilySearch.org or FindAGrave.com, you can do extensive research on your family.
Carol Darrow
As an added bonus during this pandemic period, Denver Public Library is allowing you to log on to their website (www.denverli-brary.org) to use Ancestry Library Edition from your home computer. Just go to the Research tab on the library home page, select Databases A-Z, then select “A” for Ancestry, and move down the list alphabetically and find Ancestry Library Edition. You will asked for your DPL library card number (D, zero, bunch of other numbers) and password (4 digit year of your birth). Then you can start researching. This open access will end when DPL reopens but you should have ample time to find your family. Ancestry Library Edition is the same as the World Deluxe edition, so you can research records from around the world.
If you’re still “afraid” of your computer, you can check with your local Senior Citizens Center for classes in computer skills. You can go to YouTube videos that will tell you how to insert a photo. The downtown Denver Library offers a free beginning genealogy class on ZOOM on the second Saturday of every month. This class will help you understand the most effective ways to search the Internet for the information you seek.
This is the best of times to research genealogy and family history. Today information that took months to retrieve from courthouses and family members is now available at the touch of a finger. Don’t be left behind.
Carol Cooke Darrow is a professional genealogist who teaches free Beginning Genealogy classes on ZOOM through the Denver Public Library from 10am – noon on the second Saturday of each month.