Preserving the Web for Genealogy

Is your genealogy research missing a massive, free resource? Google Books is a powerhouse for family historians, offering instant access to millions of rare, out-of-print texts that you can’t find on standard genealogy sites. This video reveals how to use the platform as a "super-index" to find ancestors missing from traditional records, download entire family histories for free, and locate hard-to-find physical books in libraries near you. Don't let valuable clues slip through the cracks—watch now to master these hidden features and break through your brick walls! * * * Author’s Note: I want to be transparent that this material – DESC Tech Tip – Google Books – was created in part with the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) language model – Gemini Pro 3. The AI assisted in generating an early draft of the article, but every paragraph was subsequently reviewed, edited, and refined by me. The final content is the result of extensive human curation and creativity. I am proud to present this work and assure readers that while AI was a tool in the process, the story, style, and substance have been carefully shaped by the author.

Is your genealogy research missing a massive, free resource? Google Books is a powerhouse for family historians, offering instant access to millions of rare, out-of-print texts that you can’t find on standard genealogy sites. This video reveals how to use the platform as a "super-index" to find ancestors missing from traditional records, download entire family histories for free, and locate hard-to-find physical books in libraries near you. Don't let valuable clues slip through the cracks—watch now to master these hidden features and break through your brick walls! * * * Author’s Note: I want to be transparent that this material – DESC Tech Tip – Google Books – was created in part with the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) language model – Gemini Pro 3. The AI assisted in generating an early draft of the article, but every paragraph was subsequently reviewed, edited, and refined by me. The final content is the result of extensive human curation and creativity. I am proud to present this work and assure readers that while AI was a tool in the process, the story, style, and substance have been carefully shaped by the author.

Was your ancestor’s $500 land purchase a steal or a fortune? Stop guessing. This video reveals the top tools—including the AI-powered Wolfram Alpha and the gold-standard MeasuringWorth—to instantly translate historic currency into modern value. You will go beyond simple inflation to uncover what money really meant in the past, from daily wages to purchasing power. Learn to turn dry financial records into rich, relatable family stories. Watch now to finally understand the true economic reality of your ancestors' lives. * * * Author’s Note: I want to be transparent that this material – DESC Tech Tip – Calculating Historic Value of Money – was created in part with the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) language model – Gemini Pro 3. The AI assisted in generating an early draft of the article, but every paragraph was subsequently reviewed, edited, and refined by me. The final content is the result of extensive human curation and creativity. I am proud to present this work and assure readers that while AI was a tool in the process, the story, style, and substance have been carefully shaped by the author.

Stop getting generic, surface-level answers from AI! The secret to breaking brick walls isn't just asking questions—it’s assigning Roles. In this video, discover how telling AI to "act as" a professional archivist, DNA expert, or social historian transforms it from a basic chatbot into a specialized research partner. We reveal the top 5 personas that unlock deeper historical context, decipher impossible handwriting, and analyze evidence with professional rigor. Don't just chat with AI; build your own expert research team. Watch now to revolutionize your family history strategy. * * * Author’s Note: I want to be transparent that this material – DESC Tech Tip – Using Roles for AI Prompts – was created in part with the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) language model – Gemini Pro 3. The AI assisted in generating an early draft of the article, but every paragraph was subsequently reviewed, edited, and refined by me. The final content is the result of extensive human curation and creativity. I am proud to present this work and assure readers that while AI was a tool in the process, the story, style, and substance have been carefully shaped by the author.

Is your digital family history hiding in plain sight? Stop letting your hard work disappear into generic filenames like "IMG_0054.jpg." This video reveals the power of metadata—the digital equivalent of writing names and dates on the back of a physical photo. You will learn how to permanently embed stories, citations, and faces directly inside your files, ensuring that your research travels safely wherever your photos go. Watch now to transform your chaotic folders into a searchable, future-proof archive and guarantee that your ancestors' identities are never lost again. * * * Author’s Note: I want to be transparent that this material – DESC Tech Tip – Using Metadata for Genealogy – was created in part with the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) language model – Gemini Pro 3. The AI assisted in generating an early draft of the article, but every paragraph was subsequently reviewed, edited, and refined by me. The final content is the result of extensive human curation and creativity. I am proud to present this work and assure readers that while AI was a tool in the process, the story, style, and substance have been carefully shaped by the author.

Learn to harness the Internet Archive’s free digital library—a treasure trove of digitized family histories, city directories, census and church records—to enrich your genealogy research. Learn how to build complex prompts to build an index of surnames on a 400 page genealogy book from 1898. Learn how to extract a list of migration routes from the same book, organized by surname, then in generation order, and placed in an Excel file. With the help of AI, you can get the most out of Internet Archive.

Les sous-titres et la voix de cette vidéo ont été doublés en français à l'aide de l'IA. Apprenez à exploiter la puissance de l'intelligence artificielle pour vous aider à traduire, transcrire et résumer divers documents de généalogie. Un acte de baptême manuscrit des années 1800 ? Pas de problème. Un avis de décès dans un journal teinté par le temps ? Pas de problème. Nous aborderons les meilleures plateformes d'IA ainsi que comment rédiger un bon prompt pour obtenir les résultats dont vous avez besoin.

Learn how to harness the power of artificial intelligence to assist in translating, transcribing, and summarizing a variety of genealogy records. A handwritten baptismal record from the 1800s? No problem. A faded newspaper obituary? No problem. We’ll cover the best AI platforms as well as how to craft a solid prompt to get you the results you need.

While artificial intelligence won’t help you find specific records for genealogical research, AI can summarize the record sets you should consult for your search. Learn how to construct effective prompts and queries to return the best information on a record set.