#AtoZChallenge - C is for Cemetery Transcriptions, CDs, Congresses and Cataloguing


There was a time when I used to look after the QFHS Bookshop and I always like to tell the story about how the Toowong Monumental Inscriptions boxes used to be stored at the foot of our matrimonial bed.  I think any marriage that can survive that can survive anything. Needless to say I have a VERY understanding partner.  

I still have the Toowong Monumental Inscriptions - but only one set now.  I have been surprised how many times I have had occasion to refer to them and look them up. Of course you don't even have to have books now.  You can just purchase the CD from QFHS - a CD takes up much less space shelf.  Libraries aren't just books.  They are CDs, DVDs, eResources- the whole shebang.


Toowong Cemetery monumental inscriptions by…  

Family History Congresses - I have been to a few.  My first one was back in 1991 in Launceston.  That was just before I had children. The papers are called Our Heritage in History and were produced in a book.



My parents and I attended some of the talks at the Congress in Brisbane in 1994.  Those papers seem to be housed in a Lever Arch File - goodness knows why.  I didn't get to attend another Congress properly until the one in Canberra a couple of years ago and I'm looking forward to Sydney's next year.  

Congress papers can now be produced on USB or emailed as a PDF rather than or as well as being produced in hard copy.  As Carmel quite rightly pointed out in my first A-Z Blog post, the challenge then becomes keeping track of a digital library as well as a physical library and finding stuff.  I spent half an hour the other day looking for something I thought I had downloaded to my eReader when in fact I had downloaded to my old iPad.  Too many devices!  Carmel asked how I manage this - not very well obviously.  But there are tools out there which I will discuss further under O for Organisation.  What I should say at this point is that I do tend to rely on my Librarything account to tell me where stuff is physically so in future I need to remember to add digital holdings as well with a note saying where I have filed or shelved them digitally. You can search my collection too if you want.  Just go down the right hand side menu bar and look for the search bar labelled Condaw Library.

I don't put spine labels on my books at home and I am ashamed to say they are not very organised at all.  Things have grown like topsy and I sit in the corner of my living room.  It is my dream to have my own room for my family history and organise my books in a sensible fashion.  At the moment they tend to be grouped according to size and publication type and or subject.  So all the Unlock the Past books sit together.  All the tall books are together.  All the local histories are together. You get the idea.


Comments

crgalvin said…
I like the embedded TinyCat search bar, one more thing I need to do. I did have an LT widget on Library Currants for a while but TinyCat appears a better option.
Have been giving the organisation of ebooks some more thought as I have many housed in Calibre too, so after your O post I'll follow up with a post too.
Anne Young said…
I am using http://www.librarything.com/home and it helps me to catalogue my books by Dewey number and I arrange them accordingly :) It really does help to find them later


C is for caught in Caen during the Reign of Terror


----------

Anne Young

Anne's family history
I'm also a Librarything user. Still in the process of cataloging my collection -- starting with family history reference books. Have to take a look at Tiny Cat. I had the impression it was for small lending libraries, but reading comments here it seems it would work for a personal library, too.
Sharon Himsl said…
I imagine a time when I return to family research and genealogy, a project begun way back while in a history research course in college. I do have a nice collection and even purchased genealogy software (Legacy) not too long ago. I've done oral history for a historical society too. A fascinating subject and I often feel the pull. Cataloguing and organizing would be so different now. I use Calibre for my e-books and conversions into different formats and highly recommend. I've wondered about using Scrivener and/or yWriter (I use both) for genealogy as well. Interesting post! (thanks for the tip on the Cleopatra logo. I found it that way online with the inscription...which was indeed wrong)

"Female Scientists Before Our Time"
Shells–Tales–Sails
Alex Daw said…
Dear Carmel and Sharon - Hmmm....Calibre...I haven't heard of it...obviously I've been living in a broom cupboard. I shall investigate!
Alex Daw said…
Dear Anne - I think I will have to follow your footsteps when I relocate my library into one of the now empty bedrooms - now that we are empty-nesters. Molly I look forward to finding you on Librarything!
GeniAus said…
So what's your Librarything handle? Cemetery transcriptions are one of my fave resources for my surname study - so much info to be found there.

Jill - Blogging the #AtoZChallenge at ballau.blogspot.com
Alex Daw said…
Ooh Jill...that seems so obvious doesn't it? Okay - I am weirdly enough alexdaw on librarything...I wasn't smart enough to come up with a moniker then...I think it was my first social media site and I had no idea about alter egos as it were.

Popular posts from this blog

31 Things to do in August for National Family History Month

NFHM Blogging Challenge - Week 1

Merry Month of May Movie Meme