As part of Family History month, the Auckland City Libraries Family History Expo was held Friday August 11 - Sunday August 13 at the Fickling Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
FamilySearch representatives were invited to participate in the expo and provided an exhibition booth and speaker.
FamilySearch is a worldwide genealogical organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The FamilySearch team included Elder George Harvey and Sister Elaine Harvey (full-time family history missinaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Art and Heather Schwencke, Sandy and Lynn MacDonald, and Maria Good.
Elder Harvey, Area Family History Specialist, spoke Saturday afternoon on "Uncovering FamilySearch's Treasure Trove of Indexed and Digital Record Collections."
"Our team was kept very busy sharing the attributes and benefits of registering and using the FamilySearch website to help participants with their family history," said Sister Elaine Harvey.
Family History website, www.familysearch.org is maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and provides free resources for all.
One attendee from the Cook Islands was pleasantly surprised when she signed up on FamilySearch and an entire line of ancestors populated with information she added.
She also recognized some of the contributors to her line and was shown by FamilySearch consultants how to connect with her cousins and collaborate further.
Many attendees at the expo were happy to learn that microfilm ordering was being discontinued and that the availability of many microfilm in digitized form would be ready to view online in September.