Ever feel like you do nothing but click and then click again to get to where you want to go on Internet? If so, you are not alone. Sometimes it can be fun and then sometimes downright annoying.
Now that my Salt Lake City stash is a thing of the past, I am working with what I discovered on my 2010 sojourn to Utah's genealogy mecca. I have more time to explore what I've missed this summer on Internet.
Sometimes I go directly to GoogleBooks to find a title that interests me or to WorldCat or to Historical Books on Family Search. That's not too many clicks of the mouse. But what if there's more on Internet that I'm missing? Then I begin a search on Google (not GoogleBooks) to look for a family surname or a family genealogy or a county history. That's when you begin clicking and clicking until your mind becomes a bit foggy and you are dizzy.
With more clicking I discovered a web page that I did not know excited until now. I am sure it will be a constant referral in my search for online data. In my daily blog reading, I like to read Harold Henderson's Midwest Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog. That's when I found a link to Genealogy Book Links.
The original information came from the Pro Genealogists' blog. I had to click there to find out more about Genealogy Book Links. Turns out a retired librarian who loved genealogy (Don't you just love a librarian who loves genealogy?) developed a searchable website for free online books. She did this three years ago. So, what was I doing three years ago besides moving? Now her 5,000 links consists of approximately 20,000 links with 7,500 in biography and family genealogies. Each week this wonderful librarian adds 300-500 new titles.
The Genealogy Book Links web page is easy to navigate. It's arranged by surname, locality, material type and also by topic. Just click on where you want to begin and you will see what books or periodicals are available FREE to be downloaded off Internet. Some are at GoogleBooks and some are located on other web sites. They are all downloadable in PDF format.
Keep in mind that in order to be downloadable they are older books, no longer under copyright. But some of the information is still interesting and good ... waiting for genealogists to explore. This is a great way to search at one site and eliminate some of the clicking to get what you want. What genealogist doesn't want a new adventure in old books?
Oh ... by the way you might want to click through blogs and see what you can find. Including the two above mentioned, some of my favorites are Genealogy Tip of the Day, Genealogy's Star, Granite Genealogy and Genealogy Roots Blog.
YGGG #1 --- Ruby
I read about the Genealogy book links on the progenealogist blog also and checked it out. WOW. It is definitely a source to return to again and again. It's really a quicker way to find something than to wade through all of the Google book hits.
ReplyDeleteThese look like some links I'll have to look into. Ironically I fell into genealogy by doing a Google search on my maiden name...found my dad's name, discovered he was a pall-bearer at my great-grandmother's funeral, clicked on "home" on that site, discovered that it was a site devoted to genealogy of the island of Fehmarn, Germany, emailed the owner, gave him what ancestor information I had, the next day he emailed me a file that printed out to over 170 pages of family history on both my father's & mother's families. How cool is that? The rest, as they say, is history. :-) By the way, I'm a librarian too.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Do you happen to know Elaine Moore? She lives in Alliance too and I read her quilting blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Quiltin' Library Lady! I have a good idea of where you found the Fehmarn, Germany information. It's a wonderful web site. Were yours in Iowa?
ReplyDeleteI have not lived in Alliance since 1961, but my sister-in-law does. She's on vacation ... YGGG #2. She may know Elaine Moore.
Sorry, I got the two of you mixed up. Just realized my mistake.
ReplyDeleteMy paternal great-grandparents made a stop for a few years in Iowa, than came to Nebr. & stayed. One set of maternal great-grandparents were in Chicago for a few years, then Iowa, then Nebr. Those old timers moved around a lot.
Thanks for the great tips, Ruby; I've bookmarked the ones I hadn't used before.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for mentioning my blog!! I so appreciate it!
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