I will be back to blogging, lecturing, and consulting.

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  Leave a comment

I have been having a great time co-chairing  next week’s big FGS genealogy conference in Fort Wayne. Unfortunately, that meant that my blog has usually slipped to the bottom of my task list.

In September I will be back to more blogging here along with being available for presentations. Just contact me for my bio, lectures, and fees as well as date availability.

I will also have time to get back to one of my other loves and that is consulting with folks just starting on their family history journey or others that need some advice on where to turn next. It’s like having a private genealogy class!

Last day to pre-register for FGS Genealogy Conference

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  Leave a comment

Today (that’s Wednesday, August 14) is the last day to pre-register for the FGS 2013 Conference that takes place next week in Fort Wayne, Indiana. If you want to add luncheons or other activities to your registration, it’s also the last day to do that.

Register now before time runs out. The APG luncheon, Farewell Brunch, German Workshop, and the Scanning Workshop have already filled to capacity and several other luncheons and workshops are close to that.

Once you are preregistered, you can log-in to your account and download the full syllabus.

I hope to see you next week in Fort Wayne!

FGS Conference Online Registration Deadline

Paula Stuart-Warren  Allen County Public Library, Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS  Leave a comment

My poor blog has been a victim of my current schedule. Between client deadlines and co-chairing the FGS Conference that begins in less than two weeks in Fort Wayne, I have no extra time to write. It’s going to be a great conference. The registration numbers are fantastic and don’t forget that conference registrants can avail themselves of extended research hours at the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library.

I do want to let my readers know that online registration for the FGS Conference ends on Wednesday, August 14. Click here to register and learn more about the conference.

Today, August 9, is the last day to register by regular mail.

You may still register at the door beginning Tuesday, August 20, at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne. It will be a great educational and fun time.

FGS Genealogy Conference registration deadlines near

Paula Stuart-Warren  Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, GRIP  Leave a comment

I am back home from a wonderful week of teaching at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. The 29 students in my course were amazing. The group discussions were fantastic and I thank them all for their participation.

Now my mind is turned toward the August 21-24 Federation of Genealogical Societies annual conference. My conference co-chair, Dawne Slater-Putt, and I are looking forward to seeing family historians of all experience levels in Fort Wayne. Tuesday, August 20 has several pre-conference activities. Then there is the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library. The wonderful aspects of that week in Fort Wayne are detailed at https://www.fgsconference.org/

As the FGS Conference New Blog states, “if you haven’t registered for the FGS 2013 Conference yet, you still have time to register online, by mail or at the door. Mailed registrations must be postmarked by Friday, August 9. Online registration ends on Wednesday, August 14th. Pre-registering for the conference gives you access to some great benefits.” One of the benefits is access to the online syllabus in the coming days!

Of course, you may still register at the door!

Read that blog for more info on all days at www.fgsconferenceblog.org

Press Release on PERSI and periodicals digitization

Paula Stuart-Warren  Allen County Public Library, findmypast.com, PERSI  Leave a comment

Five days ago I blogged about a newspaper article discussing a project that would revolutionize our access to the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) and the articles that the index covered. Today I received the official press release about the project. I am excited about this. For many years I have promoted PERSI and all those wonderful periodicals from the past that hold valuable family history information, queries, indexes, bible abstracts, cemetery abstracts, and more. I will definitely be renewing my findmypast subscription! The Allen County Public Library is one of the local hosts for next month’s Federation of Genealogical Societies genealogy conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Findmypast.com is a Platinum sponsor of that conference of which I am one of the co-chairs.

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LOS ANGELES (July 19, 2013) – Findmypast.com, an international leader in online family history, today announced a partnership with the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) Genealogy Center to revolutionize the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI), the world’s largest and most widely used subject index for genealogy and local history literature. As part of the partnership, findmypast.com is enhancing PERSI, most notably by linking thousands of individual genealogical periodicals and resources to the index, allowing the original content to be accessed and connected digitally for the first time in the history of PERSI.

During the past 30 years, the ACPL Genealogy Center has created more than 2.5 million searchable records in PERSI, indexing every article from more than 8,000 different periodicals, including magazines, newsletters and journals, according to location, topic, surname, ethnicity and methodology. In the coming months, findmypast.com will launch the most complete version of PERSI online. Once launched, findmypast.com will work in tandem with the Genealogy Center to provide frequent updates to the collection as new entries are added.

PERSI has become an essential tool in helping genealogists and family historians locate valuable information, and this new partnership with findmypast.com will transform PERSI into an even more powerful resource.  Findmypast.com subscribers will be able to search and view digitized images of the articles, allowing unprecedented access to the information contained in these periodicals.

“We are proud to partner with The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library to continue indexing and offering PERSI – an essential tool for genealogical research,” said D. Joshua Taylor, lead genealogist for findmypast.com. “This is an ideal partnership given findmypast.com’s expertise in digitizing records and Allen County Public Library’s continual dedication to adding new records to the index. We look forward to working together to once again revolutionize the way genealogy and local history literature is accessed.”

“Partnering with findmypast.com represents an exciting opportunity to grow PERSI into an extremely relevant twenty-first century discovery tool for genealogists worldwide,” said Curt Witcher, ACPL Genealogy Center manager. “Having the ability to provide much more frequent updates and link index entries to serial issues is a real game-changer, not only for genealogists and local historians but also for the librarians and archivists who serve them.”

The future of online search through this partnership aligns with findmypast.com’s Society Data Initiative, a joint project between the Federation of Genealogical Societies and findmypast.com to preserve, digitize and provide access to the rich resources created by family history, genealogical and historical societies over many decades.

PERSI, and each periodical to be linked over time, will be available across all international findmypast sites, to personal subscribers and library users.

Findmypast.com’s expertise at digitizing historical records and uniting communities provides the tools to help people connect with their past.

To learn more about findmypast.com or to get started on your own family history:

Findmypast.com’s expertise at digitizing historical records and uniting communities provides the tools to help people connect with their past.
To learn more about findmypast.com or to get started on your own family history:
·         Like findmypast on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/findmypastus
·         Follow findmypast on Twitter at https://twitter.com/findmypastus
·         Follow findmypast on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/findmypastus/

 

University of Minnesota Archives and Special Collections

Paula Stuart-Warren  Archives, University of Minnesota  Leave a comment

The opening two sentences of a 17 July article in the Minnesota Daily, the newspaper of the University of Minnesota’s main campus, tells the story of why we still need to visit such places in our family history research.


“In the last five years, the University of Minnesota Archives has digitized about 1 million pages of records.”

“But that’s only 1 percent of its total content.”

I have seen the underground storage of many of these materials and just that part alone was impressive. The article further stated, “The University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Department houses 16
collections of rare and unique research material. Thirteen of these are stored in an underground room the size of two football fields stacked on top of each other, located beneath the Elmer L. Andersen Library and the University Law School.”

Read the full article here.

Check out the website of the University Archives here.
Check the Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts here.

I have used several of the special collections in research projects and found them quite valuable.

Isanti County Historical Society rises from the ashes

Paula Stuart-Warren  Historical Societies  Leave a comment

Back in 2011, I wrote about the arson destruction of the historical society building and contents in Isanti County, Minnesota. An article in yesterday’s Isanti County News tells the story of the rebuilding, the future, and the hopes for this building and society that is physically located in Cambridge, Minnesota

“Our main focus is now going to be a resource center for genealogy and family history. We want our focus to be on pictures and stories and information on Isanti County”

“Isanti County Historical Society Heritage Center is a place to not only conduct research and learn about our past and the people who made us what we are today, but also a place to create new memories.”

Read the balance of the informative and uplifting article here.

Visit the society’s website here.

Minnsota Historical Society adds Tuesday morning research hours

Paula Stuart-Warren  Minnesoa Historical Society  1 Comment

It’s official. The research hours at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul are being expanded to include Tuesday morning. Now the Tuesday hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. beginning this fall. Wednesday – Saturday hours remain 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Hours are also being expanded at several historic sites.

Other research changes are afoot at MHS, too. Reader and printer repair and cleaning, perhaps? More accessible outlets for plugging in computers in both rooms? Fingers crossed! I hate crawling around on the floor to plug in my computer when the row of accessible plugs is filled in the Hubbs Room.

Thank you, Minnesota Legislature and all who championed this change.

Read the full press release here.

State archives newsletters hold value for genealogists

Paula Stuart-Warren  Archives, Electronic newsletters, Newsletters  Leave a comment

Have you checked the newsletters produced by the state archives in your ancestral states? The content varies, but may include:

  • list of recent acquisitions
  • bios of staff members (may tell you which person is familiar with specific collections)
  • descriptions of collections
  • notes on state history
  • indexing projects
  • digitization projects

Both the current and past issue are valuable. Many are in paper format but some have older issues online. Some archives deliver their newsletters electronically today. 

These are some you might want to check:

Genealogy articles indexed in PERSI to be digitized?

Paula Stuart-Warren  Allen County Public Library, Conferences, Federation of Genealogical Societies, PERSI  Leave a comment

I love visiting the Genealogy Center at the main Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. My first visit there was in the early 1980s and I have been back there many times. One of the joys of researching there is accessing all those current, older and out-of-print genealogy and historical periodicals that are indexed in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). This is not an every name index to all articles but a subject index.

For about a year I have known something was afoot about the future of this wonderful resource and now we know something about that. Today’s Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) has a story about the history of PERSI and that all those periodicals may be coming to a computer screen near us! Even better, the plan is to link the index to the actual article.

As the online article states, the index covers about 12,000 periodicals, some of which are no longer published. All hold genealogy gold. “The library’s collection is so big, the index now contains about 2.5 million citations, and ACPL adds about 100,000 more a year.”

U.K. based brightsolid is behind this great project.

Read the full story here.

In the meantime, why not do some personal searching in all those periodicals while you attend this year’s fantastic genealogy conference in Fort Wayne. I am co-chair of this Federation of Genealogical Societies August 21-24 event. Learn more and register at https://www.fgsconference.org/