There are things one needs to know and prepare for. In addition to that, it would consume some of your time. Just have patience and it will all be worth it! There are many sites offering free information on genealogy. As the saying goes, it is now just a click of a mouse away. As mentioned, one must prepare some information before starting to look for additional ones. The only disadvantage is that it will require more research, interviewing, corroboration of information provided and some travel. Americans can trace their family records to as far back as the arrival of the settlers, as long as records are intact. If you have foreign roots, you might have a little difficulty since records may have been lost or destroyed or written in a foreign language. Country Search- countries under this category are Australia, European countries, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. SSDI (Social Security Death Index)- there are several search fields such as the social itself, surname search, middle name, first name, last recorded residence, date of birth, last benefit and date of death. You could also use and access a lot more computers a block away, specifically in the Memorial Building of Joseph Smith. These computers that are found off-site have actual access to the indexes of the library and is generally recommended for LDS family history library beginners. Checking out of books and films are limited to five at one time. You have to do a lot of reading in order to gain knowledge and have a basis of your origin. Like for an instance, if you want to find out your real ancestors way back in the 19th century, a broad research is needed from the stored photographs in your house to the era of world war 1 and 2 and so on. Some people may see it as a waste of time but the truth is it can be rewarding in the end. Perhaps you can combine efforts to make your genealogy search easier. You might also want to write letters or visit family members who might know about your genealogy. If they don t have the information you need, ask for referrals. You might also want to get in touch with neighbors or people who have worked with older family members.