Genealogists encouraged to embrace change

David E.

Rencher encouraged participants at BYU's Conference on Family History and

Genealogy to adopt new technology, such as FamilySearch's new online

applications. He knows it is a hard sell for some. \"I clearly remember

the day when we took the old paper copy of the card catalog out of the Family

History Library,\" Rencher, FamilySearch's Chief Genealogical Officer said. \"We

nearly had a riot on our hands when we began taking those drawers

away.\" The same thing happened 10 years later when microfiche were

replaced by computer indexes. \"Change moves on,\" Rencher

said. Change is to be expected, he explained, as products and services

go through a natural life cycle. Several popular family history products and

services are at the end of their usefulness as technology provides better

solutions. One of the most popular products being phased out is Personal

Ancestral File (PAF), a free family history program that was introduced in 1997.

FamilySearch is moving to an Internet-based system, usually referred to as the

New FamilySearch. People will still be able to use PAF on their computer and

export their data to the New FamilySearch. An additional software program will

enable PAF users to import information from the New FamilySearch back to

PAF. Other commercial genealogy software programs will also be able to

work with the new system. Rencher likes the idea of using an offline program

with the new online system. \"You can maintain a working copy of your (family

history) file on your own hard drive. For many of us, that is a real comfort

zone. That's where I'm at. I like to know that that data is right here on this