This week's news includes: the Library of Michigan and its historical and genealogical collections are in jeopardy; Ancestry.com has filed with the SEC for a $75 million IPO; brightsolid announced the acquisition of the Friends Reunited Group for £25 million; Ancestry.com has substantially expanded its Jewish Family History Records collection; Ancestry.com also has announced the release of its fourth Ancestry World Archives project, the England and Wales Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; dynastree.com now offers a free 14-day trial of its premium subscription; and RootsMagic's Valentine's Day Family History Cruise of the Western Caribbean, sailing from Miami on 14 February 2010, is accepting reservations, and there will be great genealogy classes and shore excursions -- details are available at http://www.rootsmagiccruise.com.

The Guys will be part of a special event at the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2009 Conference in Little Rock. They will lead an Open Forum for Bloggers, Social Networkers, and Podcasters -- and for anyone interested in discussing or having questions. Meet The Guys, other bloggers, people on social networks you may never have met in person, and podcasters.

The Guys interview Maureen A. Taylor, the Photo Detective. Visit her website at http://www.photodetective.com, and sign up for her free newsletter at the bottom of the Web page. Catch her great blog as well!

The Guys discuss the crisis in Michigan with the governor's proposal to stop funding, close the library, and disperse the collection. The Michigan Genealogical Council organized an important rally this week at the State Capitol and then proceeded to march to the Library of Michigan. There the participants, nearly 500 strong, formed a "Hands Around the Library" demonstration, carried signs, and spoke with passers-by. There was local television and newspaper coverage of the event. The Guys are very concerned about this situation, and George is an outspoken library and archives advocate.

George reviews an outstanding book, Crash Course in Family History (3rd edition) by Paul Larson. The outstanding step-by-step book is available from EasyFamilyHistory.com (http://www.easyfamilyhistory.com), and previews of the book are available at http://www.crashcoursebook.com.

This week's listener email includes: Eric asks about the Frappr map that The Guys had on their website; Victoria shares the address of the University of Chicago's Archival Photographic Files at http://photofiles.lib.uchicago.edu; John weighs in on the subject of genealogical data placed behind societies' members-only walls; and Stephanie asks for suggestions on how to move data from Reunion to another PC-based software package.