Next, you must know what resources are available in each specific record holding place or building. These places or buildings are known as repositories. You will need to learn the addresses of the repositories, their availability, and how to use them. Step-by-step guides and complete chapters are in your textbook that will cover the major repositories necessary for your beginning course. Many others are mentioned in Lesson 3 on the previous page from the link to the Your Great Ancestral Hunt lessons that cover substitute Vital Records.

Think about three places: libraries, archives, or family history centers you have used. Did you ever think of the Internet as a place where records are stored? Genealogists do! It is just one great big repository. But where do you go to access these records, and how can you use them most effectively? This is what you need to learn this semester.