The transition between microfilm and online images

As a family history center director, I learn many things while helping others. I go at a very fast pace, and it is very easy for that new knowledge to slip into subconscious memory to await later recall.  So how can I easily share important tidbits to help others on their genealogy journey?  A blog, of course!

I decided to enter my discoveries and tips into short blog posts that can be devoured at your own pace.  I am amazed at all the records going online daily.  It can be an overwhelming task just to determine what record may answer your question. It is just as difficult sometimes to figure out where to find that record given the many avenues from online databases to archives and libraries.

I notice the average researcher is becoming very well versed in locating records searchable online.  The truly conscientious researcher prefers the original document to online indexes. That is where the process can get tricky as I discovered today.

Notice this West Virginia death index on Ancestry.com for Flora A. Findley:

Ancestry.com. West Virginia, Deaths Index, 1853-1973 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

It gives a film reference for microfilm in the Family History Library Catalog: 2074135.  Without knowing, you could proceed to order this film so that you could view the original death certificate, but would you be savvy enough to consider looking other places online first?

If you looked up this same record on FamilySearch.org, it would look like this:

Notice to the right of the index it says that the image is viewable at wvculture.org.  When you click "Visit Partner Site," you are taken to the original image.  

What if you had not searched for this record on FamilySearch.org, but proceeded to locate the microfilm to order it? Well, when you would have located the microfilm in the catalog you would have seen a red notice letting you know that the original record is online. Notice the message in red letters:

While we are in this transition from microfilm to online accessibility, remember to check different online collections for the record that you need. Read the descriptions of indexed collections very carefully to determine how to access the original record. If you cannot find a record online, check the Family History Library Catalog to see if it has been microfilmed. This costs less than obtaining it from the original source, and sometimes you are able to review the whole film for records on other family members.

Have you had to order microfilm lately? If so, how was that experience? Also, what can a family history center do to be of the most help to you when you come to look at film you  ordered?