The Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is working to make genealogical files accessible from a family history Web site. Elaine Hasleton, a public affairs representative from the Family History Center in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, said the Web site is in its developmental stages. The project is underway, however Hasleton said no set completion date has been given. The ancestral files of the LDS Church will most likely be accessible from the site, said Craig Foster, a spokesman for the family history center's public affairs projects. Foster said the details of what other files and information will be accessible from the site is not final. 'We are all excited about the future for family history,' said Jana Darrington, 21, a senior from Mesa, Ariz., majoring in family history. As the department assistant for the Harold B. Lee Library's family history department, Darrington said many people have asked about the possibility of family history files going online. 'This will make things much more available for the patrons and make genealogy work widely known,' she said. Darrington expects the number of people going to family history centers to naturally decline once the files become available from home. 'But I'm sure the elderly who don't feel comfortable using the Internet will still make use of the facilities,' Darrington said. Lynda Cameron of Provo visits the HBLL Family History Center at least once a week, sometimes more. 'Making a Web site for family history seems like a logical thing for the LDS Church to do,' Cameron said. Cameron is originally from Australia, where her father, Keith Williams, still resides. She said they are both working on genealogy for their family continents apart. 'This will really open information up for my father and make things more available for everyone,' Cameron said. 'It would be a dream to be able to work out of my home. I can work for as long as I want, whenever I want.' Darrington also mentioned that this new project with family history will introduce many non- members to the LDS Church. 'There are many people who work on family history that are not Mormon,' she said. Many of them already use LDS family history departments, and with the future Web site many more will become familiar with the LDS Church, Darrington said. This story is copyrighted by <http://newsnet.byu.edu> and Brigham Young University. The Rumps at http://www.pelicanlake.com 4788 Corian Court (E-Mail = fred@compu.com) Naples, FL 34114-9418 <|||> 941-775-7838