Showing posts with label filing systems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label filing systems. Show all posts

Saturday, December 25

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 11 Results

Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog (and hosted by Geneabloggers) presents "52 Weeks To Better Genealogy", a series of weekly genealogy prompts / suggestions / exercises that (hopefully) will help anyone to become a better researcher.

The challenge for week 11:

Read the back posts from the Transitional Genealogists Forum. This is a message board for genealogists who are taking the steps needed to become professional genealogists. Even if you aren’t interested in that goal, you will benefit from the questions and answers provided on this excellent discussion list. If you have a genealogy blog, write about a question or subject from this board that was helpful for you.

I found several things of interest, including...

The thread for [TGF] Source Citation Placement from 4 February 2008 for the placement (and discrepencies) of sources within a formal research report.  Of interest, especially if I ever get my butt in gear and write personal research reports, as I would like to (eventually) do...

The thread for Privacy Laws - Canada from 2 August 2008 is something I am sadly lacking in and need to become more aware of...

The post of Organizing and "Publishing" Personal Research (by Connie Sheets) from 8 March 2009 made me think about what I'm doing, how I'm going about it, and where I want my research to go (where my ancestors went is another issue! ;)

The thread for How Do You Track Time on Projects? 26 June 2009 : Since time (whether blogging, researching, or just being "genealogically nosy" (i.e. surfing), tends to drift away from me, I thought this conversation might be of some help...

The thread for Tips for citations in Word 13 August 2009 : Helpful, again, if I ever get to my plan of personal research reports...

The threads for personal research report or status update from 30 August 2009 and Organization of Client Reports from 6 December 2009 : I especially found the response from Elizabeth Shown Mills quite helpful in regarding a format for personal research reports (which I would eventually like to do for my own research...).

The thread for What to call a progenitor whose first name is unknown from 6 January 2010 : I found this conversation interesting since we all have "unknown's", whether progenitor's or not (even though the question itself was asked in conjection with a client research report).

The thread for Henrietta Lacks - example of an interesting research project from 1 February 2010 : This one jumped out at me solely because I have the book that came out of this research - waiting on my TBR shelf! :)

...as well as the numerous threads on various citation formats and discussions on BCG Standards and "Evidence Explained"! Even though I have no (current - I've thought about it though!) plans to "become" professional/certified (though informal "self-education" will always continue), I plan to subscribe to the list regardless.  It's quite a bundle of information! 

Please Note: This challenge was originally published the week of 13 March 2010. I'm continuing the series on my own after a lengthy (cough, cough) break from genealogy...

Friday, February 5

Organization 101: Binders (Part 1)

Having dabbled in all three main methods of genealogical organization, I have finally settled on my final course of action: binders.  File folders proved too flimsy and I failed to keep any genealogy computer programme I tried (PAF, Family Tree Maker, Broker's Keeper...) updated (plus, we're now on our fourth computer since the ancestor hunt began - and I've lost whatever information I've had on each...).

Thus, the Binder Method.

That's the easy part.  Now the trick is to decide how to internally organize the material: family binders divided by surname, by location, or by random (or specific) number; binders per material type vs. "coffee-table" binder; colour-coding woes; and so on.

Below are a few online articles discussing various methods.  Stay tuned for part 2...

Internet Resources:

"Clear your clutter" (part 1) and (part 2) podcasts from GenealogyonDemand and the accompanying handout (Oct/Nov 2006)

"Organizing Your Paper Files Using Binders (Notebooks)" from FamilySearch.org

"In a Pile or a File: A Guide to Organizing Genealogical Research" by Rita F. Bartholomew (2001) [note: includes a few archival no-nos - metal clips, eek! - but the booklet is excellent otherwise]

"Organize your paper files" (in combination with a computer program)

Elyse90505's Channel on YouTube - includes videos for: "How I organize my genealogy", "How To Create A Research Binder", "How to Organize Your Genealogy Part 1", and "How to Organize Your Genealogy Part 2", as well as the blog entry "Organizing the Paper Mountain, Part 2", all by Elyse Doerflinger

"Binders, Notebooks or Folders? Organizing Your Genealogy Files" by Kimberly Powell (About.com)

"A Guide to Organizing Paper Genealogy Files" here and here (this one w/pictures!) by Wayne Hinton, Hinton Genealogy Research (1997)

"Guide to Organizing Your Genealogy Files" by Shannon Wakeland (eHow)

"How to Organize Genealogy with Binders: Notebook Sections for Family Surnames, Documents, Locations" by Jennifer Jensen (suite101.com, 2009)

"Digging Out From the Paper Pile" from Genealogy.com

"Organizing Your Research" by Diana Smith (Genealogy.com)

"Another Sort of A to Z: Your Genealogy Filing System" by Donna Przecha (Genealogy.com)

"Organizing Your Home Records" by Lisa Noirot (Summit County chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society, 2001)

DearMyrtle's checklists of organization: January 2009, February 2009, March 2009, April 2009, May 2009, June 2009 [note: while these cover much more than just binders, they're a great series of articles!]

"Get It Together" series of organizational articles by Elizabeth Kelley Kirstens (Ancestry.com, 1999-2000)

"How do I keep all this stuff straight?" George G. Morgan ("Along those lines", Ancestry.com, 1998) [note: this is one of the first articles I ever accessed - and subsequently printed off...]

"Organization is the Key!" series of lessons from Genealogy.com

"Keeping Track of Cousins" by Christine Sievers (suite101.com, 2000)

"Organizing Family History Records" by Marina Garrison (50connect.co.uk)

"Organizing Your Papers" - a series of 4 articles from "Legacy News" (2006)

"Develop an Organizational Plan: One That Will Grow as Your Research Grows" by Phyllis Matthews Ziller (genwriters.com)