Exploring your family history just got easier! During the COVID-19 crisis, FDL cardholders have temporary remote access to Ancestry Library Edition, courtesy of ProQuest and its partner Ancestry. Ancestry Library Edition is an online genealogy collection of 200+ billion images in 7,000 unique databases and includes genealogical search, message boards, blank charts and forms, and tutorials to help you perform research.
FDL cardholders may request access by email (reference@fondulaclibrary.org) or by Live Chat during scheduled chat hours. Please provide your full name and FDL card number with your request to receive additional instructions and the password.
Remote access will be available until the end of April 2020 and will be re-evaluated monthly as needed. Ancestry Library Edition is always available on the library’s public access computers and for use with personal devices on the library’s WiFi network.
Ancestry has made other additional features available to everyone during this difficult time. Ancestry is offering support to parents by making its AncestryK12 lesson plans available for free for anyone to download while they are educating children at home. Also, in partnership with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Ancestry is providing free access to search nearly 500 million NARA records and images on Ancestry. For those new to Ancestry, several videos are also available on Ancestry Academy, a free program offering online courses to help families get started on their family tree building. A library of educational videos can be found at: ancestry.com/academy. No library card is required to access the K12 lesson plans, NARA records or Academy at ancestry.com, but creation of a free Ancestry is required.
FDL cardholders can also access HeritageQuest Online from home, which is a database that combines digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records with the digitized version of the popular ProQuest Genealogy & Local History collection and other valuable content, including city directories, military and immigration records, and more.