Genealogy students from 29 states will explore ways to study family ancestry more effectively during Samford University's 38th annual Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research June 9-14.

A total of 221 people from as far away as Maine, California and Victoria, Canada, are enrolled in the Institute, one of the nation's oldest for serious genealogists. Samford was listed in "Time" magazine as a major Southern site for genealogical research.

Genealogy experts from across the nation serve as faculty, teaching week-long courses in eight broad areas. Courses include advanced methodology and evidence analysis, Old South and Border States, genealogical software and electrical archives, understanding land records and Irish genealogy. Each broad course is comprised of a dozen or more topics.

The software and land records courses are new this year, according to Institute Director Jean Thomason of the Samford Library.

In addition to course work, enrollees will use the resources of the Samford Library, which houses original and secondary genealogical and historical sources for Alabama and the Southeast. Samford also has extensive holdings in Irish genealogy focusing on counties Cork and Kerry, manuscripts of local and family history and numerous genealogy periodicals and census records.