Ask A Local

Sometimes the best advice is actually gotten from someone who lives where the records are and has actually used the originals on paper. Digital copies and microfilm is great, but sometimes a person needs at least the advice of someone who is very familiar with the originals. An organizational structure that makes sense onsite might not make sense in the two-dimensional digital or microfilm version. And there might be records that for some reason were not filmed or digitized. If you're using records from BlahBlah County and have never been there, never viewed the records onsite, you might want to consider contacting a local person with some questions you may have. A local with years of experience with the records may be more helpful for your specific problem than a professional living hundreds of miles away.