The paper describes operational changes made by the Seattle Archives Branch in the spring of 1977 in response to increased demands for reference services as a result of the television series, "Roots." The Branch serves a population of 6.75 million people in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Statistics from comparable periods in 1976 and 1977 show that, after the "Roots" broadcast, the Branch served 2.67 times more new researchers, 2.45 times more visitors, and 2.11 times more reference work units, including microfilm. In order to accomodate the heavy demand on reference files and microfilm reading equipment, the Branch instituted a reservation system for the use of microfilm readers. This was necessary because of high public interest in documents from the 1900 census, which are on microfilm only and which cannot circulate on interinstitutional loan. Additional changes included development of a 17-minute videocassette to orient researchers; a written procedure for selecting, locating, and using a roll of microfilm; and installation of microfilm cabinets in the research room. The author believes public interest in genealogy will continue, and concludes the paper with a selective annotated list of 18 publications on the use of family and local history. (AV)