The news includes:

• The Federation of Genealogical Societies announced the creation of a new society to promote the preservation of records in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Society of Preservation Patriots recognizes donors of $250 or more to the Rabbi Malcolm Stern-NARA Gift Fund of the Preserve the Pensions initiative.
• The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) announced its new blog, SpringBoard: News and Notes.
• The Newberry Library's Dr. William M. Scholl Center for American History and Culture announced the release of a new historical web resource, the Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey, a collection of translations of approximately 50,000 newspaper articles from the 1860s to the 1930s from 22 ethnic newspapers.
• MyHeritage has released a new version of the MyHeritage app (v2.0) that lets users "edit on the go."
• The Blog Book Tour brings new books and authors directly to users' computers January 10-26, 2013.
• WikiTree announced free comparisons of GEDCOM files.
• Mahlon discusses Oklahoma death records available at http://oklahomadeathindex.blogspot.com.
• FamilySearch announced the addition of 7 million new records on January 15, 2013.

Listener email includes:

• Jane asks for pointers to record resources for the Boer Wars in South Africa
• Lori asks about problems obtaining SS-5 forms from the U.S. Social Security Administration.
• Carole describes her frustration at trying to obtain SS-5s.
• Shawn asked about the military pension records discussed in the December podcast at fold3.com.
• Ashley talks about her Slovak family.
• Anne purchased a Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 and is very pleased with it. (Learn more at http://scanners.fcpa.fujitsu.com/scansnap11/s1100.html.) She also discusses how she solved a handwriting interpretation problem.
• Virginia asks for guidance for how to enter a family scandal into her genealogy database.
• Jonathan is seeking a genealogical researcher for his Scottish Cameron emigrant ancestor. (Visit the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) website, the ICAPGen website, the Association of Professional Genealogists website, and the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) website.
• Kelly asks about naming conventions for digital photos.

The news includes:

• Ancestry.com's sale to Permira Advisors, LLP, was concluded on December 31, 2012.
• Findmypast.com announced the release of of significant records from 1790 to present for the U.S., the UK, Ireland, and Australia.
• Findmypast.com announced release of records concerning "The Green Redcoats" and more.
• RootsTech has announced the addition for its 2013 conference of Story@Home with a full selection of classes and workshops.
• The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRC) has announced that it has released a new search engine for their AID (All Israel Database). While each database is presented in the language of the material found, the search engine can understand both Hebrew and English, thereby making the search more effective than ever.
• The North Carolina Genealogical Society announces its first full webinar, Tarheels in the Family Tree, presented by Helen F. M. Leary, CG Emeritus, FASG, FNGS, to be released on the NCGS website. It is free to all from 18 to 20 January 2013. It will be available after that to NCGS members for free.
• The North Carolina Genealogical Society and the Caswell County Historical Society are hosting an all-day seminar on 6 April 2013 in Yanceyville, NC, with speaker George G. Morgan.
• FamilySearch.org continues to add millions of digitized records.

The listener email includes:

• Carolyn provides a number of suggestions to Evan in South Africa for his search as described in our 26 September 2012 episode.
• Timothy asks if there are any widespread problems or gaps within the 1940 census. He is having difficulty finding his grandfather, Eugene Langford Padgett (b. 1894). He also asks for suggestions concerning source citations for vital records materials found in his family's possession.
• Matthew shared information about a new application under development called "Storied" at kickstarter.com.
• Tom discusses errors that result and are perpetuated from people accepting without question information on online family trees. He urges the use of "critical thought and evaluation" before accepting such information as definitive.