Friday, September 21, 2007

The Eastern Regional Library Show

Library staff member Lesley Conway runs a radio show each Wednesday 12:05pm-12:45pm on Eastern FM 98.1 called The Eastern Regional Library Show. Tune in next Wednesday for a great show.

On Wednesday's show

One of the challenges of researching family history is how to keep the mounting paperwork in order. Ann Dixon was with us today and made a some practical suggestions. You will want to create the classic 'family tree' genealogical record, and to do that it is worth considering some useful computer software. At www.familysearch.org you will be able to download free software which is as good as any commercial product, and will help you establish some order from the beginning. The another hint Ann made was that as you will still have a lot of paper records, start filing them in folders as soon as you get them. And finally, keep a separate page in your folders for each ancestor as you find them, and record the details of certificates that you have, or are tracking, of newspaper articles, obituaries etc. that you have located and other resources relating to that person, so that at a quick scan you can see what you have found.

Ann is one of the volounteers at AIGS (Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies) who run free workshops for 'Beginning family history research', so if you are interested, check their website at www.aigs.org.au You can also begin your family history research at an ERL workshop, for which there is a charge, or come along to a Genie Exchange, which is a free open session for family researchers which runs in four of our main branch libraries. Check with the library staff for details on your next visit, or go to the Family History website.

---- Lesley

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