del.icio.us is a one of the best 2.0 tools around.  Users can create access to the Internet on their own terms.  Yes I like a controlled vocabulary,  that’s the librarian in me.  A controlled vocabulary is great for those who are in the know (e.g. librarians using  L.C. subject headings) but a controlled vocabulary does not always speak to the common, everyday user who may not be “in the know”.   Tagging allows common, everyday users to apply their own, what I like to call “common sense” vocabulary to the world around them and find what they need.  Tagging can be a bridge to fill the gap between users and their different vocabularies.  For example, I might use “genealogy” as a tag for a site and someone else might use “family history”.  Using our individual tags for the same site allows us to find each other and possibly share other sites and information as well.

I like to use a mix of controlled vocabulary and tagging to allow me access to the resources I need.  Library divisions could use del.icio.us to collect a unique list of websites that help them perform their jobs when helping customers.  We could use a controlled vocabulary that we as librarians use but also add tags that help  customers find what they need as well.  In today’s “keyword” driven world “tagging” is a must for anyone who catagorizes and shares websites, pictures on Flickr, etc. If you’re not using “tags” then you’re not “with it”.  You’re not providing the best access to information to users from all walks of life varied experiences with the world around us all.

I picked the Make Your Own Coat of Arms for obvious reasons.  Now you know how your ancestors got theirs ; ). Check out my coat of arms from a very ancient line.

mad-man-of-ght-crest2

The library has so much information to share with it’s users.  Lists of new books added to our collection, events at our locations and those that our staff participate in on behalf of CML, changes in services, new technology, are just a few topics that would be of interest to our users.  This could be way too much information for our users to sift thru and find the few things that they are interested in.  RSS feeds would allow users to quickly find out what’s happening in those particular areas that interest them.  I know I have many interests (librarianship is one and Library Stuff is one site with news and information of interest to me) and it is nigh on impossible to read each and every blog, news site, etc. every day to see if they have anything new for me and I know my supervisor and co-workers would not appreciate me spending all my time sifting thru every one to find out what’s going on.  I know now that I can use RSS feeds to simplify this, so that I get only the information/news that I want/need and get it at my convenience.

I recently signed up again for a “personal” subscription to Ancestry.com. They have a cool tool called “My Tree” that allows you to create a family tree and as you do so Ancestry automatically starts to search all of it’s databases for records that might match the persons you include in your pedigree. With a few simple clicks you can review these “hints” or sources (census, church, military, all kinds of records), edit the information you wish to add to your family history, and based on this new information you’ve added Ancestry continues to look for more information you might find useful.

One might quickly think that with technology like this, there would be no need for book, document and record collections or the people who work in them. This would not be the case. First this is available to subscribers only and not everyone would be able to afford the price nor always have access to a computer and the Internet to access Ancestry.com. Even though subscribers might use Ancestry to create the pedigree and family history with supporting records available through it’s database, users still need us to evaluate what they find and to offer advice on which record would hold more prominence in proving the facts presente. At this point in time Ancestry.com does not have every record from everyplace in the world in it’s electronic collection. Sometimes those digitized records they do have may not have been scanned properly and are illegible or at best very hard to read. Users will be happy to know that the physcial copies of these are out there in a government agency, archives, or library just waiting for the researcher to find and use them to further their own research and we will be there waiting to assist them in this endeavor.

With that said, technology is great and it makes life easier but in some cases it is not perfect. Human or technological errors such as; poor quality digitization or illegible scans, poor selections in metadata or a lack of some controlled vocabulary can render these resources difficult (if not impossible) to find.  Even something as simple as no power or charging for information that was once free, can disconnect or disassociate the user from the sources they need. Until the technology of the digital world is without any flaws we need to take the more “antiquated” approach of learning research methodology, learning how to evaluate and interpret what we find before we present it to the world as credible, authortative information and/or facts about any topic including our family and our lives.

TOOLS…You’ll need two simple tools to help you along, a pedigree chart and family group record. Start by filling in information about yourself and immediate family (spouse/partner, children, parents, and grandparents). Don’t worry about not having every fact on these forms. The fun comes later when you begin looking for information and sources to verify (or document) what you already know and fill in what you don’t know.

READING…I’d recommend reading a book about how to do your genealogy. Check your local library or bookstore for Emily Anne Croom’s Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best Selling Guide to Genealogy. This is a simple, quick and easy read that will give you the basics for starting your research.

DOCUMENTATION…Another rule of genealogy is that you should document all of your facts. The next step is to look for documents around your home to verify the information you have thus far. Are there vital records such as birth/marriage or death certificates, deeds, wills, pictures, family bible, letters, or any other documents that relate to your family’s life experience?

Documentation is especially important when you begin to share your work with other family members or if you decide to apply for membership in a lineage society such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) or Sons of the American Revolution. These societies will ask that you verify and document your lineage back to an ancestor.

Not only does documentation prove the facts you have noted, it might also provide a clue to other information or records that will help you continue your research.

Don’t forget to cite your sources. Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills is the authoritative source for genealogists learning to cite their sources.

Starting your genealogy is easy. Just follow the steps mentioned above and you’l be on your way. I’ll continue the process in another segment.