Edinburgh marks its first Family History Week by offering free, expert advice for anyone looking to trace their family tree.

During Family History Week (Monday 14 April to Saturday 19 April), experts from the Scottish Genealogy Society, the National Library of Scotland and Edinburgh City Libraries will be holding taster sessions and drop-in surgeries at libraries across the Capital.

While many events do not require tickets, some are ticketed (at no charge), which are available from the corresponding venue.

Examples of what will be on offer during Family History Week:

• Knowing Your Grandfather - a talk by Malcolm Cant, one of the leading writers on the history of Edinburgh, into his own past
• Ask the experts drop-in sessions
• Talks on how the City Archives and the National Archives of Scotland can help you in your search for your ancestors
• Help and advice about how to get started with genealogy at Leith library
• Exploring your local history with SCRAN, the online learning resource base
• Finding out more about using the Internet to research your family tree.

"Exploring your family history requires a lot of patient detective work," says Fiona Myles, Senior Library Officer at Central Library. "There's so much information available in the library, over the Internet and in other institutions in Edinburgh that tracking your family down can be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"We have organised a programme of events to give people who are interested in family history the chance to hear about the resources available and where to find them... all for free."

To find out more about Family History Week, please visit www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries, or call 0131 242 8000.