The Stratford Public Library has just subscribed to another new database, available exclusively to library card holders (free to all residents of Stratford, West Perth, Perth East and South Perth). It’s The Ancestry Library Edition, the subscription part of the Ancestry.com website, and it provides a more in-depth means of getting at genealogical records and family histories. It contains census and military records, passenger lists, even land and probate records from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and a smattering of other European nations. Searchable fields include one for records, one for photos and maps, and another tab for newspaper stories and similar publications. It is also browsable by location, with clickable maps linked to census records and other data for specific regions, and the database contains the downloadable form to start creating your own family tree. The scanned search results can be viewed with a zoom, downloaded, saved, or e-mailed (in case your family tree is a cross-country family project, say). Search results can also lead to message boards (otherwise hidden and hard to find) for communication with other people looking for the same information – maybe distant cousins! Although it can only be used from within the library (licensing issues - sorry!), it is an ideal, free tool for anyone involved in geneological study, or for anyone wanting to know a bit more about their family history than can be gleaned from the original website.