Do You Know What is On Your Bookshelf?

-

 

Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com.


WHAT DO I HAVE?


When I attend a genealogy conference, I never pass up the book vendors in the exhibit hall. I am always fascinated by their offerings. As well, a presenter has probably mentioned a book “you must have”.

There are books on my shelves that I use daily; Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills is open near my right hand as I am writing this. Mastering Genealogical Documentation by Thomas Jones and Professional Genealogy edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills probably tie for second-most used books. They are where I can reach them without moving from my computer chair.

There are other genealogy books that I refer to only occasionally when I need a specific piece of information. Understanding Colonial Handwriting by Harriet Stryker-Rodda is one of those.

HOW DO I KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE?

 I do not want to purchase a duplicate. I could use a spreadsheet, but sometimes that gets messy. When Marilyn Schunke took over responsibility for the South King County Genealogical Society’s library several years ago, she researched several library apps and recommended Libib.com.


LIBIB.COM

Libib.com is a library management service for home and small organizational libraries. They offer two plans; Standard for $0 per month and Libib Pro for $9 per month or $99 per year. Libib Standard allows users to catalog up to 5000 items and have up to 100 libraries.

I prune my books ruthlessly, so I will never have 5000 (or even 500) books. I only need two libraries, books and CDs, so the Standard plan suits my needs. I also love the price, $0 per month.

EASE OF USE

The Libib app is easy to use. When I add a book to my collection, I simply scan the ISBN/UPC code with my phone or iPad and the title, author, and cover art are automatically imported into the app. If I were so inclined, I could add when I acquired the book or CD and the price. It syncs between all the devices upon which I have it installed. The only time I have ever had a problem was with a book I purchased in Turkey. I had to add the UPC code manually. If you have very old books, there is a provision for adding them as well. As with most apps, there are features I will never use such as publishing my library for everyone to view.

HOW SKCGS USES LIBIB.COM

The Society uses the Standard Plan. Our collections are housed in two places, the Kent Family History Center and the Auburn branch of the King County Library System. The books housed at the Family History Center are primarily reference books that for one reason or another are not appropriate for the KCLS collection. Those books are cataloged on our website. If you need to refer to one of them, you will be able to do that during any of the hours the FHC is open (when they reopen).

GENEALOGY BOOKS HELD BY KCLS

The books held at the Auburn Library are classified as Reference Books and are cataloged by KCLS. If you need to refer to one of them or one of the books in the Genealogy Collection at the Bellevue Branch of the KCLS, and those locations are not convenient for you, you may borrow them for in-library use within the King County Library System (once again, when they reopen). For example, if you are in Algona, you could request a book from the genealogy collections at Auburn or Bellevue and have it sent to Algona. I have borrowed a book from Bellevue, had it sent to Covington, and used it there. It was very efficient and much easier than driving to Bellevue from Kent.

BENEFITS OF CATALOGING YOUR BOOKS

Cataloging your genealogy books for quick and easy retrieval is just one more step in becoming a better-organized genealogist. Who knows, you may discover something you have forgotten you have.

For more information see Cegielsi, Carla S., “Keeping Track of Genealogy Books,” NGS Magazine (July-September 2020) 56-59.

If you are inspired to add a book to your library, the Society has ONE copy left. When it is sold there may never be another one available.



To download the Order Form, go to SKCGS.org/publications.

Happy Reading!


Barbara Mattoon



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looking for a Needle in a Haystack? GAME CHANGER at FamilySearch

-
Image
Generated with Bing ImageCreator (AI), March 13, 2024 Where is YOUR Needle, Your Missing Record? Genealogical Proof Standard When we use the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) as our guide, we all know that "exhaustive research" can be both tedious and exhausting. Is life long enough to search page by page through all the counties where all the members of a family might have lived, paid taxes, bought, leased or sold property, made a will or died intestate? It is possible that the new Full Text Search at FamilySearch will  eventually  allow us to do just that. It has been estimated that 75% or more of the records at FamilySearch were browsable but not searchable; the only indexes those found in the records themselves. Those records are certainly attainable by using those indexes and browsing to the record of interest, but the process is tedious, often frustrating, and slow. And once found, the record must be read and transcribed to be useful. This new Full Text Search tackles a...
Read more

What's the Question?

-
Image
We genealogists are often told by experienced researchers how important it is to begin with a research question. I resisted doing this for a long time, but now that I use a series of questions to guide my research, the search is more focused and actually finds more of the history of the family I'm investigating. I use a Google Doc as the  research proceeds, where I keep the question(s), the plan, timelines, checklist of resources to search, etc. all in one place. I've seen others use spreadsheets in the same way, perhaps splitting up things in tabs (Excel or Google Sheets). I prefer a document because I add source citations as I find them and I can begin writing up the case right there in the doc as the hypotheses are proven. Specific Questions in Previous Successes As beginners we often have no clue how much and what details we already know about a person, event or relationship, so it's hard to specify what we want to know. But when looking back at successful research, it ...
Read more

Help Save This Abused and Neglected Cemetery

-
Image
Screen capture from Google Maps History In an exchange of emails this past week in both the main SKCGS group, and in the Washington-State-Genealogy group, many facts were revealed about the history of the I.O.O.F. Comet Lodge Cemetery, also known as the Old Burying Ground, the Georgetown Cemetery, the Graham Street Burying Ground and maybe more.  FindAGrave sums it up this way: "Since it was established in 1881, the Comet Lodge cemetery site has been whittled away to less than half its original 5 acres. Records are sketchy but it's safe to say that some 500 pioneers were buried here, atop unknown numbers of native Duwamish people. New burials ended in the 1930s. Since then, homes and streets were built on top of many of the plots as the neighborhood around the cemetery grew.  "Upkeep and ownership of the cemetery bounced between the city, civic groups, relatives of Comet Lodge residents, and nearby neighbors. For years, much of the property was allowed to deteriorate int...
Read more