From an informational web page:

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collects and preserves Canada’s documentary heritage, and makes it accessible to all Canadians. This heritage includes publications, archival records, sound and audiovisual materials, photographs, artworks, and electronic documents such as websites. As part of its mandate, LAC works closely with other archives and libraries to acquire and share these materials as widely as possible.

LAC is committed to making as much of its collection as possible available online. LAC has determined that genealogical records are a priority.

The Generations Network (TGN) is an American company based in Provo Utah, which specializes in the production of genealogical information for its subscribers. It is an expert in watermarking, digitization and indexing records related to genealogical information and skilled at displaying this information online through its various websites, including ancestry.ca, rootsweb.com, genealogy.com.

Estimated Cost:
This is a non-monetary project, both parties contributing expertise, knowledge and resources towards a shared and common objective. Both LAC and TGN are responsible for costs associated with their portions of the project.

Source: LAC

Search War Diaries online

From the site:

Wouldn’t it be fascinating to discover what your First World War ancestor’s army unit actually did? War Diaries are official daily accounts kept by individual units. They give reports on operations, intelligence summaries and other material. They can help you piece together your ancestor’s life in the army in the First World War.

Search the diaries at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/war-diaries.asp - Searching is free and you only pay for downloads.

Source: National Archives, UK

From the announcement:

For the first time, the National Archives and Records Administration has made available online more than 5.2 million records of some passengers who arrived during the last half of the 19th century at the ports of Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. The records were transcribed from original ship manifests into electronic databases by Temple University’s Center for Immigration Research at The Balch Institute.

Source: NARA

UK: History: Databases: Air Ministry Combat Reports (1939 - 1945)

This collection held in the series Link to glossary - AIR 50 comprises Second World War combat reports of squadrons, wings and groups in Fighter, Bomber, Coastal Commands and Fleet Air Arm squadrons. The records cover Commonwealth and Allied units based in the United Kingdom including the United States Army Air Force. You can now search and download documents which contain the names of around 20,000 men. Until now these records have only been available on microfiche in the Reading Room at The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

Source: The National Archives

Search the “Burnt” records online for the first time

The “Burnt” records are First World War soldiers’ records that were literally burnt during the Blitz. You can search these files online for the first time to find your First World War ancestor. Most surnames starting A to C are now available via Ancestry.co.uk. Searching the name index is free.

Source: National Archives (UK)

Genealogy Research + Social Networking: Myfamily.com Launches Free, Enhanced Beta Version of Family-Focused Social Networking Site

…a new release of myfamily.com 2.0 beta available at www.myfamily.com. The new release lets families connect online to share news, recipes, family history, photos and video in a safe, private and media-rich environment. Myfamily.com 2.0 beta offers several new features and services, including the ability to leave voice messages directly on the site or narrate photo slideshows using a phone.

+ U.S. National Archives and FamilySearch Team Up to Digitize and Index Mountains of Historic Documents
See Also: Plenty of Primary Material to Go Around, Visit Footnote.

+ Canada Post holds line on rates for library books

+ H.W. Wilson Publishes World Hunger

+ Video Search: blinkx Plc Announces Interim Results for the Period Ended 30 September 2007

National Personnel Records Center Opens more than Six Million New Military Personnel Files

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) will open for the first time all of the individual Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) of Army, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard military personnel who served and were discharged, retired or died while in the service, prior to 1946. Collectively, these files comprise more than six million records. This is the second step in the progressive opening of the entire paper and microfiche OMPF collection of over 57 million individual files. Additional military personnel records will be made available to the public each year through 2067 until the entire collection is opened.

Source: NARA

Genealogy Research: Ancestry.com parent sold for $300 million
Private equity firm buying a majority stake in The Generations Network, whose portfolio also includes RootsWeb.com and the software Family Tree Maker.

See Also: Official News Release

The Generations Network, Inc., today announced that Spectrum Equity Investors will lead an investment of $300 million to purchase a majority interest in the company. Spectrum, a private equity firm based in Menlo Park and Boston, has been a shareholder in The Generations Network since 2003. Following the transaction, Vic Parker and Ben Spero from Spectrum will serve on the company’s new board of directors, along with Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of The Generations Network. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions and is expected to close in 2007.

See Also: Ancestry.com Introduces Digital Scrapbooking

See Also: Genealogy Research: DNA Results to be Added to Ancestry.com

Coming Soon: The Mother of All Genealogy Databases
From the article:

A team of computer scientists, mathematicians and biologists have come up with a computer algorithm that can trace the ancestry of thousands of people in a few minutes based on a DNA sample, according to the September 2007 edition of the journal PLoS Genetics. The researchers claim that their method is 99% accurate. They plan to build a massive database of people and how they’re related.

A wide range of similar projects are in the works all over the world. For example, the Russian-British project is using DNA analysis to trace the Russian descendants of Britons who migrated to Russia centuries ago.

For the past few years, DNA tests designed to reveal where one’s ancestors came from has become popular among African Americans. The tests, which cost less than $400, work by comparing DNA to samples collected from people living all over the world. For example, if an American like Oprah Winfrey has a lot of DNA that matches the DNA of people currently living in Liberia, then she can be assumed to have descended from Liberians (which is, in fact, the case).

These are just three of the many DNA-based genealogy databases under construction.

Source: Computerworld

Genealogy Research: North America Local and County Histories to Go Online

Thousands of published family histories, city and county histories, historic city directories, and related records are coming to the Internet. The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library, and FamilySearch’s Family History Library in Salt Lake City announced the joint project today. When complete, it will be the most comprehensive collection of city and county histories on the Web—and access will be free at www.familyhistoryarchive.byu.edu.

The digital history project will target over 100,000 published family histories and thousands of local histories that are rich in names as well as biographical and genealogical data associated with those names. “Publishing those collections from the three libraries involved will make a significant and attractive family history digital library online for genealogists and historians,” said David Rencher, director of Records and Information for FamilySearch.

Source: FamilySearch

New from Library and Archives Canada: Project Naming, Phase II
The goal of this project is the identification of Inuit portrayed in some of the photographic collections of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in Ottawa. It is an ongoing initiative, which enables Nunavut youth to connect with Elders and to better understand their past. It also helps to bridge the cultural differences and geographical distances between Nunavut and the more southern parts of Canada.
Direct to Database

Source: Library and Archives Canada

Databases: UK: First World War soldiers’ pension records online
From the announcement:

The pension records of almost one million soldiers who fought in the First World War are now available to search and download from Ancestry.co.uk

The collection (catalogue reference WO 364) comprises the records of many soldiers discharged because of illness or injury sustained during the War.

This is a major milestone in the partnership project between Ancestry.co.uk and The National Archives. The remaining service records of soldiers who killed, died or who survived the war (catalogue reference WO 363) will be available online by the end of 2008.

Source: National Archives

Footnote.com Announces New Partnership with the Largest Public Genealogy Library in the U.S.
From the announcement:

Today, Footnote.com announced a new partnership with Allen County Public Library (ACPL), the largest public genealogy library in the United States to digitize millions of historical records making them available online for the first time at Footnote.com.

Source: Footnote.com, Allen County Public Library (ACPL)

New Database: Genealogy: Lower Canada Land Petitions

From the website:

When New France became a British colony in 1763, the land system changed. New lands were now granted as part of townships instead of seigneuries. Many early settlers, both military and civilian, submitted petitions to the Governor to obtain Crown land. The Lower Canada Land Petitions contain petitions for grants or leases of land and other administrative records. This research tool provides access to more than 95,000 references to individuals who lived in present-day Quebec between 1764 and 1841.

From the help page:

This research tool is estimated to be at best 85% accurate and complete. Names of petitioners and claimants were indexed, but those of surveyors and authors of many supporting documents were not. Records in volumes 10 to 28 (sub-series Minute Books and Loose Minutes) were not indexed. Certain records in volumes 10 to 28 relating to seigneurial tenure, exploration and surveying are of particular importance for legal or geographical research questions.

Source: Library and Archives Canada