Showing posts with label genealogy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genealogy. Show all posts
New Ancestry is Coming
From Ben Mercer talk 22nd August 2015
Last month I attended a talk by Ben Mercer from Ancestry.com in which he presented a few facts and figures, discussed new records coming on board and, most importantly, outlined some big changes to Ancestry which will be rolled out in the coming months. As many patrons are using the library to research their family history I thought it wouldn't hurt to pass on some of the the notes I gathered during this talk.
Some information:
- As of August 2015, Ancestry has 2.1 million subscribers
- 96% of Australians surveyed associate family history with Ancestry
- Ancestry's collections are from microfilm, digital assets and original records
- Many use Ancestry as a starting point and then move on to museums, libraries and other resources to continue their research.
- If users get stuck, there is a lot of useful information on the Help page, as well as instructional videos through Ancestry Academy for those wishing to extend their knowledge and research skills.
- Ancestry is changing from being a 'data consolidator and deliverer' to a 'storyteller'. The layout of the Ancestry website is changing and the new format aims to help users explain their ancestor's lives as part of a wider picture. This youtube video explains the changes.
- Ancestry subscribers can already opt to switch over to 'New Ancestry' by going to the Account drop down menu and selecting 'New Ancestry'.
- All 'retail' subscribers will need to switch before November 2015, although at the time of the talk I attended there was no set date for the 'library' version switch - but its coming!
- New Ancestry is responding to user's requests for a new, more visual display of content.
- New Ancestry will also show what's happening in the world and local areas in relation to members of family trees, thereby giving users a greater perspective of their family story and its place in world history.
- For those paying for subscriptions, these are changing too. New subscriptions will be more about the types of records users wish to access, rather than the location.
- Launched in May 2015, Ancestry DNA is a service that combines billions of archival records.
- How does it work? The service matches user's DNA with results from all over the world to find common strands to estimate where their ancestors once lived. Ancestry DNA creates estimates for genetic ethnicity by comparing a user's DNA to the DNA of other people who are native to a region.
- The Ancestry DNA reference panel contains DNA samples from people in 26 global regions.
- Polynesian records have just come on board, but so far Aboriginal records are not available.
- Ancestry DNA looks at both the male and female lines.
- Once a DNA match has been found, Ancestry looks for matches going back 9 generations - it is designed to give users a 'better sense' of who they are.
- Ancestry members can then 'reach out' to other members who may have family connections.
- There are variations in results in siblings due to variations in DNA.
- As more people do the test, the results will become more refined - so far there have been over 1 million participants.
- There is a one off fee of $149 + $30 postage. So basically, its $179.
- Users can keep updated with Ancestry on facebook or by visiting the 'Recently Added and Updated Collections' page on Ancestry which is organised by country.
- The 1851 England Census records were updated in August 2015 which corrected 66944 records/4225 images. The 1911 England Census was also fixed - the gender for 523758 records had been incorrect.
- There are regular blogs on Ancestry and there is the ability to provide feedback.
Military History
- Ancestry is aiming to build what it calls a 'Commonwealth' view of World War I.
- Australian WW1 service records are freely available through the National Archives of Australia, but by making these military documents available through Ancestry it is hoped that soldier's lives can be better placed within their life and family history.
- There will be more Boer War records being added, as well as WW2 documents - although some of these do have privacy issues.
- A lot more New Zealand WW1 and WW2 records are now available.
- Ancestry is focusing on making smaller collections available to its users, such as St. John's Parramatta Burials, 1790-1986.
- New New Zealand cemetery records will include gravestone transcriptions, as will Rookwood Cemetery when it comes online in late November.
ancestry
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ancestry.com
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Ben Mercer
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DNA
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family history
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genealogy
Stepping ashore: Researching passenger arrivals
This is the subject matter of a Society of Genealogy (SAG) seminar I attended on Saturday. It was delivered by Christine Yeats who is a wealth of information, which she imparted so rapidly I'm sure I barely got half of it! Thank goodness she gave a great handout as well, which I have also added to Compass under About Us>Unit Portals>Library>Staff Training>Family History Help.
What she has given here are tips about where to go and what to do when you've hits walls.
What she has given here are tips about where to go and what to do when you've hits walls.
Tracing Tasmanian Convicts
I recently participated in a webinar held by the Society of Australian Genealologists (SAG), on Tracing Tasmanian Convicts by Dr Dianne Snowden.
The webinar firstly gave some historical facts and stats about those poor souls who came to be transported to Van Dieman's Land.
The webinar firstly gave some historical facts and stats about those poor souls who came to be transported to Van Dieman's Land.
- Convict transportation to Tasmania commenced in 1803 and ceased in 1853, although convicts remained under sentence into the 1880's.
- 75 000 convicts were transported in that time made up of:
85% men, 15% women. - 70% were English, 25% Irish and 5% Scottish
- Most were transported for theft -90%
- Women were punished for giving birth to illegitimate children (?!)
- Deserters had the letter "D" tattooed on their arm.
Golden Rules of Genealogy
This week I attended an introductory workshop titled:
"Getting Started on Your Family History"run by SAG.
A great little summary for beginners..
Golden Rules of Genealogy
1. ALWAYS work backwards from the known (yourself) to the unknown (forebears)
2. NEVER believe everything on a Birth, Death or Marriage certificate
3. NEVER completely trust the spelling of surnames, place names etc.
4. ALWAYS check surname variants when researching
5. ALWAYS have at least two separate sources of proof for each event
6. REMEMBER that everything is only speculation until verified
7. ALWAYS photocopy certificates and important documents and leave originals in a safe place
8. IF a document exists, read it!
9. JOIN at least one Family History Group, Genealogical Group or Historical Society
10. SHARE your information and documentation (copies only) with other researchers
11. ALWAYS record full details of all sources
12. ALWAYS keep a log of your research, both positive and negative (i.e. nil result)
Tynelle
"Getting Started on Your Family History"run by SAG.
A great little summary for beginners..
Golden Rules of Genealogy
1. ALWAYS work backwards from the known (yourself) to the unknown (forebears)
2. NEVER believe everything on a Birth, Death or Marriage certificate
3. NEVER completely trust the spelling of surnames, place names etc.
4. ALWAYS check surname variants when researching
5. ALWAYS have at least two separate sources of proof for each event
6. REMEMBER that everything is only speculation until verified
7. ALWAYS photocopy certificates and important documents and leave originals in a safe place
8. IF a document exists, read it!
9. JOIN at least one Family History Group, Genealogical Group or Historical Society
10. SHARE your information and documentation (copies only) with other researchers
11. ALWAYS record full details of all sources
12. ALWAYS keep a log of your research, both positive and negative (i.e. nil result)
Tynelle
A census trick question
I was asked on the Ref desk today if we had fiche records of the collectors books from early 20th century census in Australia - say, around 1915.
I discovered there was a census in 1911, but none of the usual suspects (Mitchell Library, etc.) has any primary documents from it.
Then the penny dropped - as the State Library of QLD says in its helpful guide -
Prior to 2001 it was Australian federal government policy to destroy all name-identified census returns for privacy reasons, and all returns for censuses conducted between 1901 and 2001 have been destroyed.
Of course, I should have realised this - there was a question from the 2006 census giving you the option to not have your census questionnaire destroyed, reflecting the new laws post-2001.
Just thought I'd share this for those who may not have realised the situation.
And kudos to State Library of QLD - NSW Archives and Mitchell do not make this information readily available in their guides. Perhaps they assume we all know.
Brian
I discovered there was a census in 1911, but none of the usual suspects (Mitchell Library, etc.) has any primary documents from it.
Then the penny dropped - as the State Library of QLD says in its helpful guide -
Prior to 2001 it was Australian federal government policy to destroy all name-identified census returns for privacy reasons, and all returns for censuses conducted between 1901 and 2001 have been destroyed.
Of course, I should have realised this - there was a question from the 2006 census giving you the option to not have your census questionnaire destroyed, reflecting the new laws post-2001.
Just thought I'd share this for those who may not have realised the situation.
And kudos to State Library of QLD - NSW Archives and Mitchell do not make this information readily available in their guides. Perhaps they assume we all know.
Brian
How Usefule is the Probate Index?
Just thought I would draw your attention to the usefulness of the Probate Index (microfiche) which allows you to ascertain the date of death for anyone who has a probated will.
Not everyone does - however if you know the person's name then you look them up under their surname. The index is divided into year so you do need to know the approximate year of death. As in the case that we had at the Ref desk the person knew the year of death just not the date. So we went straight to the year and the person's name and found the date and month. The person could then go and look for a death notice in the paper - much easier than searching the whole of 1960!
I will also add a note about this source to the Local Studies Folder at the Ref desk for future use.
Cheers
Helen McDonald
Not everyone does - however if you know the person's name then you look them up under their surname. The index is divided into year so you do need to know the approximate year of death. As in the case that we had at the Ref desk the person knew the year of death just not the date. So we went straight to the year and the person's name and found the date and month. The person could then go and look for a death notice in the paper - much easier than searching the whole of 1960!
I will also add a note about this source to the Local Studies Folder at the Ref desk for future use.
Cheers
Helen McDonald
Family History: Where to get an Ancestral Chart
Now that Karen has given you all the clues on where to find the best Genealogy resources I thought you might like to know where you can get the blank on which to fill in the details.
In Reference, we get the odd request for what may be called a Family History Chart, an Ancestral Chart or a Pedigree Chart, (woof).
You can download one as a .pdf from.
www.ancestry.com/save/charts/ancchart.htm
In Reference, we get the odd request for what may be called a Family History Chart, an Ancestral Chart or a Pedigree Chart, (woof).
You can download one as a .pdf from.
www.ancestry.com/save/charts/ancchart.htm
Ref Rap: Genealogy Resources Part 3
The Internet is extremely useful for family history research. It is user-friendly and can provide genies with access to some free information from the comfort of home. Genealogists can also interact with each other online (I wonder if there's been any online matchmaking in the genie forums). The following are some of the sites that I found useful. The links to these can be accessed from the 'Genealogists Web Resources' page on our website.
Ancestry Library Edition: This is the very popular family history database. It is a subscription only resource so unlike other records on the web, these don't come for free. Luckily for genies, we subscribe to this and it is available for use in the Library only. It contains a lot of census collections including those for Australia, the UK, US, Canada and Germany. There is also a wealth of other information including births, deaths and marriages, Immigration, War records, directories, wills and newspapers. There is also a message board allowing genies to connect with other genies.
Research Guides: both the State and National Library have handy research guides on their websites. These are clear and well laid out. They provide links to different web resources, databases and book catalogue entries to help genies with particular topics. A lot of resources on the State Library page are also contained in our own collection but there are new links on the National Library page.
Births, deaths and marriages: Each state has information about births, deaths and marriages online. What you can find is restricted depending on the State for example, Queensland can be researched for births occurring up to and including 1914 while NSW can be researched for births that occurred 100 or more years ago. Tasmania and South Australia don't allow online searching of their historical records at all. Once the record has been found, a copy can be downloaded or ordered at a charge set by the State.
World War I Service Records: In a three year preservation project, the National Archives of Australia have digitised 376000 World War I records and the public are able to search these records. While I found the search interface lacking in options (e.g. basic search will only ask for surname) it is still useful to find out any information about a distant relative. You can also search for war records at the Australian War Memorial site (www.awm.gov.au).
Cemetery Indexes: A number of cemeteries now have online indexes including Woronora and Rookwood. There are also sites that allow you to search across a number of cemetery indexes. The Australian Cemeteries Index contains inscriptions and quite often images of headstones and plaques in a large number of cemeteries across Australia, especially NSW regional cemeteries. You can search for a family name to see where it appears across all cemeteries. This is much easier than dragging your partner (who wants to play golf) to a regional cemetery, to take photos of your relative's graves and then get chased out by swooping birds (yes - it has happened to me).
The Ryerson Index: This site indexes death notices appearing in current Australian Newspapers. It so far contains 2352140 notices from 167 Australian newspapers. It also includes some funeral notices, probate notices and obituaries. It provides details of the name of the person, the newspaper the notice appeared in and the date of the notice. This is a good jumping off point for further research.
As this is not a definitive list, I'd like to suggest that you check out at least one of these sites or another site listed on the web resources page and tell us what you think in the comments box below. Hopefully, I'll be able to do more reviews of individual sites in future, but until then, enjoy searching.
Karen B.
Ancestry Library Edition: This is the very popular family history database. It is a subscription only resource so unlike other records on the web, these don't come for free. Luckily for genies, we subscribe to this and it is available for use in the Library only. It contains a lot of census collections including those for Australia, the UK, US, Canada and Germany. There is also a wealth of other information including births, deaths and marriages, Immigration, War records, directories, wills and newspapers. There is also a message board allowing genies to connect with other genies.
Research Guides: both the State and National Library have handy research guides on their websites. These are clear and well laid out. They provide links to different web resources, databases and book catalogue entries to help genies with particular topics. A lot of resources on the State Library page are also contained in our own collection but there are new links on the National Library page.
Births, deaths and marriages: Each state has information about births, deaths and marriages online. What you can find is restricted depending on the State for example, Queensland can be researched for births occurring up to and including 1914 while NSW can be researched for births that occurred 100 or more years ago. Tasmania and South Australia don't allow online searching of their historical records at all. Once the record has been found, a copy can be downloaded or ordered at a charge set by the State.
World War I Service Records: In a three year preservation project, the National Archives of Australia have digitised 376000 World War I records and the public are able to search these records. While I found the search interface lacking in options (e.g. basic search will only ask for surname) it is still useful to find out any information about a distant relative. You can also search for war records at the Australian War Memorial site (www.awm.gov.au).
Cemetery Indexes: A number of cemeteries now have online indexes including Woronora and Rookwood. There are also sites that allow you to search across a number of cemetery indexes. The Australian Cemeteries Index contains inscriptions and quite often images of headstones and plaques in a large number of cemeteries across Australia, especially NSW regional cemeteries. You can search for a family name to see where it appears across all cemeteries. This is much easier than dragging your partner (who wants to play golf) to a regional cemetery, to take photos of your relative's graves and then get chased out by swooping birds (yes - it has happened to me).
The Ryerson Index: This site indexes death notices appearing in current Australian Newspapers. It so far contains 2352140 notices from 167 Australian newspapers. It also includes some funeral notices, probate notices and obituaries. It provides details of the name of the person, the newspaper the notice appeared in and the date of the notice. This is a good jumping off point for further research.
As this is not a definitive list, I'd like to suggest that you check out at least one of these sites or another site listed on the web resources page and tell us what you think in the comments box below. Hopefully, I'll be able to do more reviews of individual sites in future, but until then, enjoy searching.
Karen B.
Ref Rap: Genealogy Resources Part 2
The first thing I noticed about the genealogy CD-ROMs and microfilm/fiche is that there are so many more records than I remembered. Most of the time I'm so used to people asking about births, deaths and marriages that I forget we can also find out about immigration records, convict records or court reports to name a few. So here's a rundown of some of these resources. If anyone at Sutherland finds the time, please have a look at these more closely. If you're out at a branch and find yourself driving past Sutherland on a weekend just think - what could make your weekend more exciting than discovering your family history.
CD-ROMS
The most popular CD-ROMs are by far the BDMs (Births, Deaths and Marriages). We hold selected CD-ROMs covering NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, NT and TAS. There are 3 for NSW covering the years 1788-1945. These do not have the fun and friendly graphics that many browsers and CD-ROMs contain. Searching can be tricky and involves maximum keyboard participation (e.g. press F6 to search). For assistance, consult the useful guides on the family history shelves at Sutherland. We also have some census data covering NSW (1828) and Britain (1851 and 1881). Please note much of this data can also be found on Ancestry.com so it might be easier to search or browse there. We also have the Australian census data for 1991 and 1996 on CD-ROM however this can now be accessed from the Bureau of Statistics website (www.abs.gov.au). There are a number of cemetery inscription CD-ROMs covering cemeteries at Manly, Waverley and South Head, Campbelltown, Rookwood, Macquarie Park and Goulburn. There are also some immigration records e.g. unassisted arrivals (NSW) 1842-56. Other useful CD-ROMs include NSW court reports 1884-1893 (in case your ancestor had a dark past); convict indexes such as Transportation 1788-1842 and Colonial convict movements index 1827-1853; lists of people by profession (e.g. index to trade registers, NSW public service list) and NSW Gold Fields register of leases. If you know of any others that have been useful, please comment below.
Microfilm/fiche
There are a lot of records on microfilm and fiche held at Sutherland. You will notice that some of these overlap with our CD-ROM collection as well as our Internet resources (e.g. NSW BDM Registers 1787-1856) but there are others that are unique. Microfilm records include a lot of immigration information such as Index to passengers arriving 1828-1842, Assisted Immigrants to NSW 1838-1896 and Unassisted passengers 1826-1900. There are records from Orphan Schools 1825-1833, Ticket of Leave butts 1827-1867 and an index to Land Grants among other records. There are also a number of newspapers on microfilm including the Sydney Morning Herald (from 1831), the Sun Herald, The Australian, The Leader and a number of other local papers from St George and Sutherland Shire. These can be helpful when researching a birth, death, marriage or funeral notice or even a newsworthy event involving your relative. I've seen a lot of people searching the news on the day they were born ('see Sally, on the day you were born the Sharks actually won a game and I was at that game while your Mum was in labour')! There are microfiche records for BDMs in NSW, VIC and other states as well as 1901 NSW census data. Other notable records include NSW Electoral rolls, cemetery records for Balmain, Field of Mars - Ryde, Sandgate, St Stephens Church of England - Camperdown and Woronora plus convict deaths and pardons.
This is only a brief list of records I found particularly interesting or helpful for family history research. If you know of any others, please share your thoughts below. Next week, you get to hear about online genealogical resources with all their 'user-friendly' graphic, browse and search features!
Karen B.
CD-ROMS
The most popular CD-ROMs are by far the BDMs (Births, Deaths and Marriages). We hold selected CD-ROMs covering NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, NT and TAS. There are 3 for NSW covering the years 1788-1945. These do not have the fun and friendly graphics that many browsers and CD-ROMs contain. Searching can be tricky and involves maximum keyboard participation (e.g. press F6 to search). For assistance, consult the useful guides on the family history shelves at Sutherland. We also have some census data covering NSW (1828) and Britain (1851 and 1881). Please note much of this data can also be found on Ancestry.com so it might be easier to search or browse there. We also have the Australian census data for 1991 and 1996 on CD-ROM however this can now be accessed from the Bureau of Statistics website (www.abs.gov.au). There are a number of cemetery inscription CD-ROMs covering cemeteries at Manly, Waverley and South Head, Campbelltown, Rookwood, Macquarie Park and Goulburn. There are also some immigration records e.g. unassisted arrivals (NSW) 1842-56. Other useful CD-ROMs include NSW court reports 1884-1893 (in case your ancestor had a dark past); convict indexes such as Transportation 1788-1842 and Colonial convict movements index 1827-1853; lists of people by profession (e.g. index to trade registers, NSW public service list) and NSW Gold Fields register of leases. If you know of any others that have been useful, please comment below.
Microfilm/fiche
There are a lot of records on microfilm and fiche held at Sutherland. You will notice that some of these overlap with our CD-ROM collection as well as our Internet resources (e.g. NSW BDM Registers 1787-1856) but there are others that are unique. Microfilm records include a lot of immigration information such as Index to passengers arriving 1828-1842, Assisted Immigrants to NSW 1838-1896 and Unassisted passengers 1826-1900. There are records from Orphan Schools 1825-1833, Ticket of Leave butts 1827-1867 and an index to Land Grants among other records. There are also a number of newspapers on microfilm including the Sydney Morning Herald (from 1831), the Sun Herald, The Australian, The Leader and a number of other local papers from St George and Sutherland Shire. These can be helpful when researching a birth, death, marriage or funeral notice or even a newsworthy event involving your relative. I've seen a lot of people searching the news on the day they were born ('see Sally, on the day you were born the Sharks actually won a game and I was at that game while your Mum was in labour')! There are microfiche records for BDMs in NSW, VIC and other states as well as 1901 NSW census data. Other notable records include NSW Electoral rolls, cemetery records for Balmain, Field of Mars - Ryde, Sandgate, St Stephens Church of England - Camperdown and Woronora plus convict deaths and pardons.
This is only a brief list of records I found particularly interesting or helpful for family history research. If you know of any others, please share your thoughts below. Next week, you get to hear about online genealogical resources with all their 'user-friendly' graphic, browse and search features!
Karen B.
Ref Rap - Genealogy Resources Part 1
Genealogy or family history is a hobby that is growing in popularity. Everyone wants to know where they came from and what their ancestors were like (even when their ancestors were criminals, bigamists or the most hated people in their community). Now, thanks to more information being available online and in print we can find out so much more about the people we're descended from. There are a large number of genealogists that visit the Library every week and an even larger number of resources to help them. It can be daunting trying to point them in the right direction at times so here's a brief overview of what we have up at Sutherland for anyone who works on enquiries, wants to recommend resources to Patrons, or wants to research their own family history. It's also for my own slightly selfish motives of revising what I've learned. Part 1 will cover books and family history services, part 2 will cover CD Roms/microfilm and part 3 will cover Internet Resources.
Books
There are some great books to help people get started with their family history. One indispensable guide is Your Family Tree: a guide to genealogical resources held by Sutherland Shire Libraries (016.9291SUT). This is an easy-to-use guide to the extensive resources we have in the Library. While it doesn't list everything, it is a good place to start if a patron asks a family history question and you're not quite sure what to search for on the catalogue. These are available at all the branch libraries so if you have a chance check them out. There are also lots of guides to researching family history including Tracing your family tree in Australia : a guide to sources (R929.394VIN) and Compiling your family history (R929.2GRA). There are more specific guides as well including Black routes through the library : a guide to Aboriginal and local history resources relating to NSW (R929.394PAT), Help! My ancestors Irish and I'm stuck!!! (R929.10720415REA) and How to trace your Italian ancestors : a guide for Australians and New Zealanders (R929.1072LEO). You could also have a look at some of the local histories of different areas e.g. Pioneers of Hornsby Shire, 1788-1906 (R994.41HOR) or Kurnell : birthplace of modern Australia : a pictorial history (994.41KUR). These can potentially provide some colourful descriptions of ancestors (I found out that one of my ancestors was notoriously difficult and stubborn). There are a wide variety of these books in reference and lending collections at all Libraries so have a look in the 929's and see what you've got. If you see anything really interesting, please comment on it.
Services
If you get really stuck with a genealogy question there are a few external groups and organisations that might be able to provide more assistance to your Patron. They usually consist of more experienced genealogists with their own resources. One of the most well known groups in this area is the Botany Bay Family History Society. They have their own research centre opened selected days. The good news is that a volunteer from this group comes to Sutherland library every Thursday morning from 9.30am - 12pm (excluding HSC time, Christmas and January) to provide expert help to some of our Patrons trying to research their family history. This group is well worth recommending to Patrons. Other groups include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mortdale (I've been told their research centre is particularly good and they don't just restrict family research to people of their own denomination) and the Australian Society of Genealogists (www.sag.org.au). If you know of any others that you have found particularly useful then please comment.
That's a very, very brief rundown of books and services that can help with family history research. Next week I'll be talking about what we have on microfilm and CD Rom.
Books
There are some great books to help people get started with their family history. One indispensable guide is Your Family Tree: a guide to genealogical resources held by Sutherland Shire Libraries (016.9291SUT). This is an easy-to-use guide to the extensive resources we have in the Library. While it doesn't list everything, it is a good place to start if a patron asks a family history question and you're not quite sure what to search for on the catalogue. These are available at all the branch libraries so if you have a chance check them out. There are also lots of guides to researching family history including Tracing your family tree in Australia : a guide to sources (R929.394VIN) and Compiling your family history (R929.2GRA). There are more specific guides as well including Black routes through the library : a guide to Aboriginal and local history resources relating to NSW (R929.394PAT), Help! My ancestors Irish and I'm stuck!!! (R929.10720415REA) and How to trace your Italian ancestors : a guide for Australians and New Zealanders (R929.1072LEO). You could also have a look at some of the local histories of different areas e.g. Pioneers of Hornsby Shire, 1788-1906 (R994.41HOR) or Kurnell : birthplace of modern Australia : a pictorial history (994.41KUR). These can potentially provide some colourful descriptions of ancestors (I found out that one of my ancestors was notoriously difficult and stubborn). There are a wide variety of these books in reference and lending collections at all Libraries so have a look in the 929's and see what you've got. If you see anything really interesting, please comment on it.
Services
If you get really stuck with a genealogy question there are a few external groups and organisations that might be able to provide more assistance to your Patron. They usually consist of more experienced genealogists with their own resources. One of the most well known groups in this area is the Botany Bay Family History Society. They have their own research centre opened selected days. The good news is that a volunteer from this group comes to Sutherland library every Thursday morning from 9.30am - 12pm (excluding HSC time, Christmas and January) to provide expert help to some of our Patrons trying to research their family history. This group is well worth recommending to Patrons. Other groups include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mortdale (I've been told their research centre is particularly good and they don't just restrict family research to people of their own denomination) and the Australian Society of Genealogists (www.sag.org.au). If you know of any others that you have found particularly useful then please comment.
That's a very, very brief rundown of books and services that can help with family history research. Next week I'll be talking about what we have on microfilm and CD Rom.
Genealogy and CD ROM's
The next time you are on the Reference Desk you will notice there is more space. The CD ROM's are growing (and will continue to grow) beyond our capacity to house them in their original casing.
They are now housed in folders. Each folder has CD's with 'similar' content on them. So far we have folders A - H, and each is labelled with the type of content it contains. eg. BDM's NSW (Birth, Deaths and Marriages for the uninitiated!) The CD's and their printed material are kept together in their own plastic sleeve designed for the purpose
There are also 2 versions of the complete list of CD ROM's held. One is organised by alphabetical order with it's 'folder location' alongside, the other is a browsing list, by content type with titles and folder location. eg. Government Gazettes & Convicts.
I hand over the plastic sleeve to the customer, just as we used to hand over the CD case. But in the situation where someone, familiar ,wanted all the Victorian BDM's, I'd hand over the folder!
Another change I hear you say, not for the better - I hear you say, well....this was the quickest, cheapest, easiest to manage (in the long term) way of dealing with the proliferation of genealogical resources on CD ROM that we could come up with.
Only just thought...we could decide to not buy anymore! :)
They are now housed in folders. Each folder has CD's with 'similar' content on them. So far we have folders A - H, and each is labelled with the type of content it contains. eg. BDM's NSW (Birth, Deaths and Marriages for the uninitiated!) The CD's and their printed material are kept together in their own plastic sleeve designed for the purpose
There are also 2 versions of the complete list of CD ROM's held. One is organised by alphabetical order with it's 'folder location' alongside, the other is a browsing list, by content type with titles and folder location. eg. Government Gazettes & Convicts.
I hand over the plastic sleeve to the customer, just as we used to hand over the CD case. But in the situation where someone, familiar ,wanted all the Victorian BDM's, I'd hand over the folder!
Another change I hear you say, not for the better - I hear you say, well....this was the quickest, cheapest, easiest to manage (in the long term) way of dealing with the proliferation of genealogical resources on CD ROM that we could come up with.
Only just thought...we could decide to not buy anymore! :)
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