Sutherland Shire Libraries Staff News

From Ben Mercer talk 22nd August 2015

• As of August 2015, Ancestry has 2.1 million subscribers
• 96% of Australians surveyed associate family history with Ancestry
• Ancestry's collections are from microfilm, digital assets and original records
• Many use Ancestry as a starting point and then move on to museums, libraries and other resources to continue their research.
• If users get stuck, there is a lot of useful information on the Help page, as well as instructional videos through Ancestry Academy for those wishing to extend their knowledge and research skills.

• Ancestry is changing from being a 'data consolidator and deliverer' to a 'storyteller'. The layout of the Ancestry website is changing and the new format aims to help users explain their ancestor's lives as part of a wider picture. This youtube video explains the changes.
• Ancestry subscribers can already opt to switch over to 'New Ancestry' by going to the Account drop down menu and selecting 'New Ancestry'.
• All 'retail' subscribers will need to switch before November 2015, although at the time of the talk I attended there was no set date for the 'library' version switch - but its coming!
• New Ancestry is responding to user's requests for a new, more visual display of content.
• New Ancestry will also show what's happening in the world and local areas in relation to members of family trees, thereby giving users a greater perspective of their family story and its place in world history. 
• For those paying for subscriptions, these are changing too. New subscriptions will be more about the types of records users wish to access, rather than the location.

• Launched in May 2015, Ancestry DNA is a service that combines billions of archival records.
• How does it work? The service matches user's DNA with results from all over the world to find common strands to estimate where their ancestors once lived. Ancestry DNA creates estimates for  genetic ethnicity by comparing a user's DNA to the DNA of other people who are native to a region.
• The Ancestry DNA reference panel contains DNA samples from people in 26 global regions.
• Polynesian records have just come on board, but so far Aboriginal records are not available.
• Ancestry DNA looks at both the male and female lines.
• Once a DNA match has been found, Ancestry looks for matches going back 9 generations - it is designed to give users a 'better sense' of who they are.
• Ancestry members can then 'reach out' to other members who may have family connections.
• There are variations in results in siblings due to variations in DNA. 
• As more people do the test, the results will become more refined - so far there have been over 1 million participants.
• There is a one off fee of $149 + $30 postage. So basically, its $179.

• Users can keep updated with Ancestry on facebook or by visiting the 'Recently Added and Updated Collections' page on Ancestry which is organised by country.
• The 1851 England Census records were updated in August 2015 which corrected 66944 records/4225 images. The 1911 England Census was also fixed - the gender for 523758 records had been incorrect.
• There are regular blogs on Ancestry and there is the ability to provide feedback.

• Ancestry is aiming to build what it calls a 'Commonwealth' view of World War I.
• Australian WW1 service records are freely available through the National Archives of Australia, but by making these military documents available through Ancestry it is hoped that soldier's lives can be better placed within their life and family history.
• There will be more Boer War records being added, as well as WW2 documents - although some of these do have privacy issues.
• A lot more New Zealand WW1 and WW2 records are now available.

• Ancestry is focusing on making smaller collections available to its users, such as St. John's Parramatta Burials, 1790-1986.
• New New Zealand cemetery records will include gravestone transcriptions, as will Rookwood Cemetery when it comes online in late November.