CCGS Genealogy Room granted FamilySearch Affiliate Library status

Our librarian, Carol Magenau, announced at a recent board meeting that her application to FamilySearch requesting affiliate status for the Cape Cod Genealogical Library has been granted. This new status gives us the privilege of being able to share additional record collections through the FamilySearch site.

As a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, we are able to grant access to digital records that are not available outside of family history centers or other affiliate libraries. These records include both images and names indexes... currently, that amounts to 400 million original records, according to the FamilySearch website.    

So, how does this work?  Up until now, when doing a search on the FamilySearch site, in the right hand column of your search results, there is an icon, which describes the availability of that particular record. The following explanation from the FamilySearch blog describes the icons and their meanings. 

 The FamilySearch catalog uses icons to quickly tell the patron the accessibility of the records they are seeking.

A document icon means that the resource is only an indexed record or transcription of the document.                                                                                                                                                                            

  A camera icon means you can view the image of the original document from any web-enabled portable device.

A camera with a key icon indicates that access to an image is restricted, such as an image that can be seen only at an affiliate library or a family history center. 

Now when using one of the two computers in the CCGS Room, at the Dennis Public Library, you will no longer see the camera with a key icon. Instead, you should  be able to directly access that record immediately.

It is important to note here that all access to records is dependent on FamilySearch receiving permission to publish the record from the original record custodian (usually, but not always, a government agency). For this reason, there are some specific records that may only be accessed at a Family History Center and are not available elsewhere.

Our CCGS Library, located in the Dennis Public Library, on Hall Ave, Dennisport,  is open on Tuesdays, 1 PM - 4PM; Thursdays, 10 AM - 4 PM; and Saturdays, 10 AM - 12 noon.