UpFront with NGS: Libraries

Showing posts with label Libraries. Show all posts

19 August 2016

Libraries Are Helping Patrons Digitize!

Libraries Are Helping Patrons Digitize!

We all hear how important it is to digitize items as a means of preservation and sharing and yet, we can be challenged to make that happen. In the past, one had to purchase equipment to digitize items or drop off (or mail off) to pay services to get something converted. Many years ago, I mailed (with tracking) slides and 8mm films to get them converted to print negatives and VHS tapes, respectively. Obviously, I now need to convert those formats to digitized format to better ensure future access.

With that in mind, it’s been wonderful to read about some library initiatives where digitization equipment is made available to the public for FREE.

For example, the D.C. Public Library now has a Memory Lab -- The DC Public Library’s New “Memory Lab” Lets You Digitize Old Photos and Videos.

At the Memory Lab … anyone with a DC Public Library card can digitize their personal archives for free. Previously inaccessible VHS tapes, floppy discs, audio cassettes, and photo negatives can now be viewed on a computer screen and shared on a thumb drive, giving new life to things that seemed lost to time and changing technologies.

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has Makerspace. This space has many types of equipment available including VHS to digital conversion, VHS to DVD conversion, cassette tape to digital conversion, slide and image scanner, and more.

The Brooklyn Library in its Info Commons space has scanners and equipment “to convert analog media (VHS videocassettes, audiocassettes and vinyl records) to digital files.

How about the Kalamazoo (MI) Public Library and its Digital Lab, The Hingham (MA) Public Library and its collection of “conversion equipment,” the Lexington (KY) Public Library collection of Digital Studio Equipment, or the Bucks County (PA) Library System where you can convert photos and videos to digital formats! The list truly goes on … just search on library digital conversion equipment and many public and university libraries with such are revealed.

Both smaller and larger library systems seem to be embracing making digitization equipment available to the community! This is wonderful news for genealogists and family historians. Now, instead of purchasing your own equipment or using pay services, all you need is a bit of time, an appointment, and to be armed with all that you want to convert!

It’s exciting to see on the internet how many public libraries are now making digitization equipment available to patrons.

I just need my local library to jump on the bandwagon.

Does a library near you have digitization equipment that patrons can use? Give a shout out to it!

What personal photos, videos, audio tapes, documents, etc., have you had digitized via a library or pay service?

Editor’s Note: Consider also reading NARA Keeps on Innovating -- Innovation Hub now open!

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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07 July 2016

Libraries + Historypin Mapping the History of Rural America

Libraries + Historypin Mapping the History of Rural America

Context is so important to history and history is so important to genealogy. They are so inextricably intertwined!

That’s why it’s great to read about a new Knight’s Foundation News Challenge grant award winning project involving Historypin and libraries.

The project is called Our Story and “Its aim is to help rural libraries in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Louisiana establish programs that will share and preserve the history of their communities.”

As revealed in How Libraries Can Help Map the History of Rural America …

Part of the program will use Historypin’s platform, launched in 2011 as a way to essentially map the past: Organizations and individuals can share photos of what their neighborhoods or towns once looked like. The photos are then grouped into collections and “pinned” to Google Maps. Visitors, in turn, can search for photos by time, location, or subject. And users can also overlay photos onto Google Street View to see just how much a place has changed.

Images + Historical Context + Mapping is an extremely powerful combination as a means of preserving history.

Check out all the winners of the Knight News Challenge (How might libraries serve 21^st century information needs).

How have you used Historypin?

What would you like to see your library do to better serve its 21^st century users? Any specific genealogically-related requests?

Editor’s note: Related Upfront with NGS posts -- Explore amazing Olympics photos on a Historypin picture map (2012), National Archives Joins Historypin (2011)

When you #StartWithaSmile on #PrimeDay (12 July 2016), Amazon donates to National Genealogical Society. Shop for great deals at http://smile.amazon.com/gp/charity/homepage.html?orig=%2Fgp%2Fbrowse.html%3Fnode%3D11448061011&ein=52-0745713

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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03 March 2016

Love of Libraries

An informal survey posted online about the Cincinnati library system, Little doubt – people love libraries reminded me how quintessentially “heart of community” are our libraries.

Talk about an institution that is constantly evolving, accommodating new technology, changing patron interests and needs, and yet is still as vibrant and necessary as ever.

I did a bit of looking around and noticed that other libraries and/or library systems are or have solicited input from patrons about why they “love their library.” In fact, the Texas Library Association has “65 Reasons to Love your Library -- A Resource Kit for Texas Libraries.”

Whether a local community library, a university research library or a state-level library tell us why do you love your library?

Editor’s Note: Related Upfront with NGS posts ...

+ Libraries are AWESOME -- are you taking advantage of all that your library (and the library in a locale you are researching) have to offer?

+ The Society of the Cincinnati Library -- a hidden gem near Dupont Circle in DC

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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21 September 2015

How to Best Research in Libraries -- Don't let anxiety get in the way!

Image by Mariana Zanatta, https://www.flickr.com/photos/marisaysfuckoff/6059864539

Used per Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 2.0 Generic license

It can be hard to visit a library, archive, courthouse, or other repository that we are not familiar with.

In fact, sometimes it creates such anxiety, that we may talk ourselves out of making the visit. Who knows what we’ve missed out on by choosing not to make a visit.

This post by Linda Barnickel on Ancestry.com, Don’t Suffer From Library Anxiety: How to Best Research in Libraries is a great read.

Symptoms: anxiety, uncertainty, sudden shyness, fear, worry that one might seem woefully ignorant, embarrassment, bewilderment, lack of confidence, and perhaps even shame that one should “know better” or already know the answers before the questions are even posed. If not treated, additional more-severe symptoms may develop, including: frustration, despair, a spirit of defeat, giving up, bitterness, and a vow to never do this again (whatever “this” is).

Remember, you are not alone! Every one of us has been to a “new” library in the course of our research and I definitely always am a bit anxious as I prepare to visit and then arrive on the scheduled day.

Since I am writing this blog post, I have obviously, emerged unscathed from these experiences. I’ve learned that preparing in advance helps a lot. It removes much of the uncertainty to have researched the answers to our myriad questions. For example you may have questions about pencils or pens, real-time copies or not, what tech toys are allowed, request materials in advance or not, signing in and getting set up, costs, etc.

Anne Gillepsie Mitchell helps us prepare with her post, Genealogy Roadtrip: 10 Tips for Researching at a Library or Archive as does Michael John Neill with his advice in Before Your Trip -- Doing Your Homework: A Checklist for Your Genealogy Vacation.

Finally, don’t forget to start with your local library! You may find that some of what you seek access to might be available locally (via subscription databases, journal archives, print books, etc) or through interlibrary loan (ILL) and for FREE.

For example, I have ancestors who lived in Essex County MA. A search in my local Raleigh NC library card catalog tells me that there are several books available that I can consult.

And, your local library can be a good place to ease your anxiety about visiting any library. The stakes aren’t as high when walking into a local library as when one has traveled possibly a great distance to visit a repository.

If you are planning a visit to a library, archives or other type of repository and feel a bit anxious, consider the advice offered above.

Editor’s Note: Related posts ...

+ Do We Still Need Libraries? (2013)

+ Planning a Visit to an Archive? Here's some Invaluable Guidance (2012)

+ Guide To Using Archives (2011)

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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01 September 2015

Vertical Files can be a goldmine of information -- Are you taking advantage of them?

Image by mightmightymatze, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mightymightymatze/2150298078

Used per Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 2.0 Generic license

Have you checked out the vertical files held in the community where you are doing research?

One of my earliest and best finds were tax lists for Wake County (NC) for 1810 & 1820. These had been published in publications not readily available and copies were placed in a vertical file in what is now called the Government and Heritage Library (State Library of North Carolina). These tax lists are important because the census doesn’t survive for this county for those years! Copies of those copies proudly sit in my library.

This article Six genealogy secrets found in the library's vertical file gives you some insight into what you might find if you haven’t ever looked at vertical files in the course of your research.

And, vertical files aren’t limited to local libraries and archives, university libraries often also have some, such as the University of Michigan and The University of North Carolina Greensboro, as well as historical society libraries like The Filson Historical Society. These have online indexes so that you can see what material might be available in vertical files.

Can’t get to a local repository to check out its vertical files? First, check for an online index (as mentioned above) and then you can query about how you might gain access. Second, a really neat trend over the last few years has been the digitization of vertical files. Now, due to copyright and privacy issues not everything in a vertical file can be digitized and you still want to check out such efforts.

For example, here are some NC examples of vertical files which have been digitized!

+ Richard B. Harrison Library Vertical Files (DigitalNC)

+ Hickory Public Library Business Vertical Files (DigitalNC)

+ Government and Heritage Library Vertical Files (North Carolina Digital Collections)

Just because vertical files are low tech and often not online, does not mean you shouldn’t consider looking into them.

Every time I start a project on a new family, I check the vertical files at the Government and Heritage Library (yes, in person, even though they are digitized, because I can ) to see if there is a folder for that family. I have found family association newsletters, copies of family bible pages, family trees, newspaper cuttings, and so much more!

What is your greatest find in a vertical file?

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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22 September 2014

American Southwest Archive Facing Potential Closure & Franklin Parish, Louisiana, Library Opens New Center for Genealogy

This is a good news and maybe not so good news kind of post!

Thanks to the Genealogists.com Facebook page for bringing this news about the Spanish Colonial Research Center and its possible closure to our attention and for verifying the details ....

Note: We posted this earlier in the week, but wanted to verify that it was indeed the case so we pulled it. We called the Spanish Colonial Research Center (505-346-2890} and they confirmed that this is a distinct possibility. They are asking the public to please weigh in on this matter. Should the archive be closed, should the hours be reduced, etc.

... This closure would impact those who are searching for their Spanish colonial roots in the Southwest. The National Park Service has given the Spanish Colonial Research Center at University of New Mexico just until the end of the month (October 1) to determine whether their doors need to be closed.

If you, like us, would like to keep this and other archives open, please contact:

• Jon Jarvis, Director of NPS: (202) 208-3818 or feedback@ios.doi.gov

• California Senators Barbara Boxer (https://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/policycomments.cfm) & Diane Feinstein (https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me ).

Note: The center at Santa Barbara, CA may also be forced to close.

• Senator Tim Kaine who is the Hon. Chairman of the US Spain Council (http://www.kaine.senate.gov/contact)

• Rep. Lois Capps (https://capps.house.gov/contact-me/email-me)
This also affects the National Trails organization, which covers Arizona and Colorado.

Unfortunately, reduced hours and closures for facilities which are invaluable to our research are becoming more and more commonplace. Just this month we have posted Sadly, Another Genealogy Room Has Closed ... and More Gloomy News -- A Genealogy Society Could Fold -- Maybe it's the weather (it's raining as I write this!).

Though, I am happy to report that Dick Eastman (Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter) shared some good news a few weeks ago, Franklin Parish, Louisiana, Library Opens New Center for Genealogy. Read the details here.

Franklin Parish Library welcomed patrons to the library's new Genealogy/Local History Room on Thursday, Aug. 21, when ribbon cutting ceremonies and an open house event were held.

The library, which operates under the Franklin Parish Police Jury, recently acquired what is known as the Landis building on Prairie Street. The site for the new center is located adjacent to the library’s main building and was purchased from Betty M. McLemore, whose grandfather H.B. Landis ran a mercantile store from the site and served as mayor of the Town of Winnsboro.

This was a refreshing bit of news on the heels of all the news about at-risk societies and facilities.

I got to thinking, if there was one new genealogy facility opening, might there be more! Yes, I found this notice, The George Washington Carver Museum and Theatre Genealogy Center Opening (Austin, TX)

So, though we are saddened when resources and facilities disappear, we can take heart that there are new resources and facilities coming to life ...

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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22 April 2014

Libraries are AWESOME -- are you taking advantage of all that your library (and the library in a locale you are researching) have to offer?

source: Google image collection of libraries

As a recent article states – Libraries are AWESOME! Read the article Libraries are Surprisingly Popular, and Oh Yeah, They Also Make You Awesome. I found it neat that one of the conclusions drawn has to do with finding and processing information (doesn’t that sound like what we genealogists do constantly?!?!)

LIBRARIES ARE MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER

Maybe the most surprising data point to emerge from the Pew Research study is that most library users are technologically engaged. That may sound counter-intuitive, but the truth is that in the age of information, places where information can be organized and contextualized are key.

Take a few minutes and jot down what your local library does for you and then you as a genealogist and family historian. I quickly came up with this “short” list (not meant to be comprehensive and what do you expect when I spent about 30 seconds creating it).

· Access to Interlibrary loan (ILL)

· Remote access to electronic databases

· On-site access to specialized electronic databases

· Availability of books, journals, newspapers and more

· Ability to order and then view Familysearch microfilm

· Access to local manuscript and related resources (in person or via research requests)

· Access to digitized collections, indexes, finding aids for local history resources

· Insights from a professional who specializes in information acquisition and interpretation

· Options to attend programs – historical, genealogical, skills acquisition and much more

· Many more services that benefit genealogists at your local library.

Whenever I research a new-to-me locale, I always check out the local library, nearest college library and then state library -- they all have so much to offer!

As already stated libraries are awesome!

What makes your local library awesome for local genealogists and family historians?

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

01 May 2013

It's May Day -- Help Save our Archives!

FB Post by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives - Public Records Division

Per the Society of American Archivists ...

Protecting our collections is one of our fundamental responsibilities as archivists. The Heritage Health Index, released in 2005 soon after hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma struck the Gulf Coast, reported that few institutions have disaster plans and for those that do, often the plan is out of date. It’s easy to put off emergency response planning as we devote our attentions to tasks with more immediate “payback.”

But on May 1 – this year and every year – you can do something that will make a difference when and if an emergency occurs. That’s the purpose of MayDay – a grassroots effort whose goal is to save our archives.

MayDay is a time when archivists and other cultural heritage professionals take personal and professional responsibility for doing something simple – something that can be accomplished in a day but that can have a significant impact on an individual’s or a repository’s ability to respond.

Read more about MayDay and what you and everyone can do!

What are you or the archives and libraries near you doing to celebrate May Day?

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com