Genealogy
Software
Presented
for the Tulsa City County Library
by
Barbara Becker Meehan, MLIS, CGSM
10
January 2009
Genealogy Software Users
See Bill
Mumford's article, below, in which he describes the needs of the these
three types of genealogy users and how genealogy software programs can
address those needs. He bases his article on the work of Elizabeth S.
Mills, CGSM, CGLSM, FNGS, FASG.[1]
Family
Tree Climbers
Traditional
Genealogists
Generational
Historians
Your genealogy software requirements will depend upon your approach to genealogy. This program will help to distinguish among the various uses of genealogy software and other tools for building family trees, and how the features and capabilities compare. The decision to invest your time and money into a particular genealogy family tree solution will rest on many factors, of which price is only a small part.
Trying to select a tool for organizing your genealogy can be as involved as you would like to make it. There are many online resources for comparing different solutions. With the constant updating of resources on the Internet, it will be necessary for you to visit the various resources yourself to ensure that you are not using outdated information. I will be providing a new form that I have just assembled, call a Genealogy Software Comparison Checklist. Feel free to duplicate it for your own use.
Web Sites
GenealogyClassBlog
Ancestry
Message Boards
boards.ancestry.com -- Enter "genealogy software" in the "Find a Board" search box.
Bill Mumford's
Software Report Card
Cyndi's
List - Software& Computers
http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm
Del.icio.us -- save your bookmarks/favorites to this Web site
http://del.icio.us --
Search for "genealogy software."
Digital
Genealogist
-- an electronic magazine
http://www.digitalgenealogist.com/
Eastman's
Online Genealogy
Newsletter & Blog -- a great source for recent (and past)
reviews
blog.eogn.com
-- Click on Software in the right-hand navigation bar.
Genealogy
Blog
Genealogy
Software Reviews by Louise Kessler
Blog
National
Genealogical Society Standards
Richard Wilson's Comparison of
Genealogy Software Programs
http://rwilson.us/comparison.htm
Richard Wilson's
WebCreation Comparison Site
Roots
Television
http://www.rootstelevision.com/
-- Search videos for "genealogy software."
Wikipedia
http://www.wikipedia.org/ -- Search for "genealogy software."
"10
Things Genealogy
Software Should Do"
Bibliography
Board
for Certification of Genealogists. The
BCG Genealogical Standards Manual. Orem, Utah: Ancestry
Publishing, 2000.
Crowe,
Elizabeth Powell. Genealogy
Online, 5th ed. Berkeley, Cal.: Osborne/McGraw Hill, 2002.
Crume,
Rick. "Software
Scorecard," FamilyTree Magazine. July 2003.
Digital
Genealogist.
November/December 2006 issue available online at http://www.digitalgenealogist.com/.
(For a pdf file of this back issue, go to Past Issues, then click on
the November/December 2006).
McClure, Rhonda R. Digitizing Your Family History. Cincinnati: Family Tree Books, 2004.
Mills, Elizabeth S. Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000.
_______.Evidence
Explained
: Citing
History Sources From Artifacts to Cyberspace
.Baltimore:
Genealogical
Publishing Co., 2007.
_______. "Genealogy in
the Information Age", NGS Quarterly, Volume 91, No. 4, December 2003.
_______.
QuickSheet Citing Online
Historical Resources. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing
Co., 2005.
_______,
ed. Professional
Genealogy: a Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers and
Librarians.
Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., c2001.
Mumford, Bill. In Search of Genealogical Software. Digital Genealogist, November/December 2006, pp 35-38.
Otterson, Michael. Finding Your Family on the Internet: The Ultimate Guide to Online Family History Research. Sandy, Utah: silver Leaf Press, 2006.
Rose, Christine. Genealogical Proof Standard. Building a Solid Case. San Jose, CA: CR Publications, 2005.
Smith,
Drew. "To do or not
to do -- I need a list!" Digital Genealogist March/April 2008, pp 9-13.
Tucker,
Mark. 10 Things
Genealogy Software Should Do, video
slideshow available through ThinkGenealogy.com.
http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/2008/04/06/10-things-genealogy-software-should-do/;
accessed 11 July 2008. Note that this presentation addresses
recommended future
developments in the genealogy software industry.
Wilson,
Richard S. Publishing Your Family History on the Internet. Habra, CA :
Compuology, c1999.
(TCCL has one copy at Hardesty Regional Library)
Genealogy Software Programs
AncestralQuest
Family
Historian
FamilyTreeMaker
GenBox
Legacy Family
Tree
MacFamilyTree
http://www.synium.de/products/macfamilytree/index.html
MyRoots
http://www.tapperware.com/MyRoots/
Personal
Ancestral File
www.familysearch.org
-- Click on
"Order/Download Products," then "Software Downloads."
Reunion
RootsMagic
The Master
Genealogist
Genealogy Software Utilities
AniMap
Clooz
Family Atlas
Family Tree
Super Tools
GenSmarts
Web-based Genealogy
AGES-Online
dynastree.com
Geni.com
MyFamily.com
MyHeritage
OneFamilyTree
PHPGedView
The
Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding
http://www.tngsitebuilding.com
WeRelate.org
[1] Mills,
Elizabeth Shown. "Genealogists in the Information Age: History's New
Frontier?" National
Genealogical Society Quarterly, December
2003, pp 260-277.