Stanmore Shame

After hearing Michelle Nichols talk at Hornsby Shire Family History Group last Wednesday and pondering on the value of photos to family historians Mr GeniAus thought it would be nice to offer some of his collection to his old primary school.

From Marrickville Library website

So last week he phoned Stanmore Public School and asked if they had an archivist. They didn't. Then he asked if there was anyone who looked after the school history and if there was anyone who would be interested in copies of his photos from the 1950s. I listened as he asked a series of questions of the person at the other end of the line and got the feeling there was no interest. I was right.

When he got off the 'phone I could just tell how disappointed Mr GeniAus was. Perhaps the person he spoke with may have been very busy or having a bad day but surely she could have taken his name and number and asked the principal, the teaacher librarian or folk in the staff room if anyone was interested.

We had a little chat and talked about other places that might show more interest. Mr GeniAus phoned the Marrickville Library and asked to speak to the local studies librarian. What a different response he got.  The librarian was definitely interested in the photos and would be delighted to have copies in the local history collection.  Digital copies will be on their way to Marrickville real soon and should find their way into the online collection there.

Kudos to Public Libraries and Librarians.

You've just got to love...

...Libraries.

I love libraries and feel very comfortable within their walls.I have to admit that during my paid working life I was a Librarian at Waverley and Randwick Libraries and at half a dozen privaye schools around Sydney.

Waverley Library Staff 1967. GeniAus is centre front kneeling at the feet of the boss, Ron Lander

As a family history sleuth I have visited a number of Libraries in Australia, the UK and US trying to find clues to our ancestry. In fact I'm visiting our State Library tomorrow. Through Libraries we have found details of cousins, graves, homes, articles in newspapers and maps to help our ancestor hunting.

This week is Library and Information Week in Australia. 

How about giving a shout out to your favourite library. The hashtag for the week is #LIA15.

Heroes

For some people rock and movie stars are heroes. I tend to save my admiration for thinkers, explorers and movers and shakers from many fields. I have a particular bias towards people from my fields of endeavour: libraries, education and information technology.

Yesterday, at the ASCCA Conference in Sydney I noticed that one of my heroes was on the program. As I was watching the passing parade from my perch (where I was demonstrating the Flip-Pal) I saw a tall gentleman wander past, I thought I recognised him. A quick Google image search told me I was correct, one of my heroes was within cooee.

Our State Librarian, Dr Alex Byrne, actually came up to me and I introduced myself to him as a lover of the State Library. We had a general chat and I congratulated him on the Library's newest online resource, a collection of WW1 diaries that the library has digitised and made available online. Dr Byrne then proceeded to give me a personal tour of the site (on my tablet); his enthusiasm for this resource reminded me of a Dad showing off his newborn. He was so proud as he showed me the resource; what I learnt about was the collaborative dimension of the collection. Readers are invited to add value to the collection by "adding your original stories, photos or records."  How cool is that!

GeniAus and Dr Alex Byrne

And why is this affable chap my hero? He has taken a venerable but staid institution and is making a huge effort to move it into the 21st Century. I imagine that this has not been an easy task. I thank you, Dr Alex Byrne, for your efforts in making The State Library of NSW and its resources accessible not just to those who are easily able to visit Macquarie Street but for the many of us in the State and beyond for whom a physical journey is not always possible.

@geniaus - A Super Search Engine

My first certificate course and degree were in librarianship.

Awardee headed to Rootstech

I am thrilled for my Genimate, Liz Pidgeon (aka @Infolass), Local and Family History Librarian at

Yarra Plenty Regional Library Melbourne, Australia and blogger for the Library Service at http://ypgenealogy.blogspot.com/ http://yplocalhistory.blogspot.com.

Liz Pidgeon

The 2012 recipient of the Margery C Ramsay scholarship that is offered to a librarian in a Victorian Public Library every two years to support the recipient's professional development is Liz Pidgeon.

Liz wrote to me that she will go to London first and attend Who Do You Think You Are Live – as well as libraries and archives.  Then over to New York City to visit the Public Library and Ellis Island.  Then to Fort Wayne Indiana to visit the Allen County Public Library that has partnerships with Fold3 and Internet Archive.  Then to Salt Lake City for Rootstech and a couple of days at the library before going to San Francisco". 

Liz will be busy blogging and tweeting from these locations. I look forward to catching up with Liz and Mr Infolass at Rootstech in March.

Congratulations, Liz, you are a worthy recipient of this prestigious award.

The Torrens

The Adelaide Convention Centre, site of The 13th Australasian Congress on Genealogy & Heraldry 2012 is situated  on the banks of the River Torrens.

As I was reminiscing this morning I remembered a holiday I took over Easter 1969 with two other young aspiring librarians Monica McGill and Carol Drew. Digging into my photo collection I found this photo of we three girls in a pedal boat on the Torrens. I haven't seen Monica and Carol for many years - I wonder where they are today.

(L-R) Monica McGill, Carol Drew, Jill

I must stroll down to the River this week and see if those pedal boats are still in operation.

SAG Library Orientation

As I have been a member of SAG (The Society of Australian Genealogists) on and off since 1998 it is embarrassing to admit that I only made it to the Society for a Library Orientation tour today. I have been to the society's other location on a number of occasions to attend seminars and Sydney TMG user group meetings  and to deliver a couple of lectures. I have also attended the society's first paid webinar and have registered for others.

Before the Library moved to its new location four years ago I had been an irregular visitor to the old library but I haven't visited since it moved to its Kent Street, Sydney, Location. There are a number of  excuses reasons for this. Until my recent retirement I didn't have time to visit the library during the week and I tried to keep weekends for family. I also have a little mobility issue that makes the walk from the railway station difficult and parking near the society is quite costly. I bit the bullet a few weeks ago and registered for the free members only orientation session via the society's website.

Today I joined seven other women and one man for the talk by Lorraine Brothers, the friendly SAG librarian, who made us feel most welcome. Lorraine spent nearly two hours describing the library's cataloguing system, telling us about the range of resources available, showing us where they were stored and  demonstrating the use of the library catalogue that is available in the SAG library. This is a more comprehensive catalogue than that available online offsite. To assist us on future visits Lorraine gave us a link to a 2007 journal article Finding your way around the new SAG Library as well as a couple of handouts.

Lorraine Brothers - SAG Librarian

I do find some of the rules and regulations at the SAG library a bit restrictive but, if I want to use the great collection of resources including many Australian family histories, will  have to live with them. It's a shame that we couldn't stay on the put our new knowledge into practice but the orientation has to be held on a day that the library is closed.

Lorraine coped admirably with the group that was made up of absolute beginners and more advanced researchers (and graciously allowed me to take her photo). Even though I have qualifications as a librarian and worked in the library field for many years I still find visiting a new library daunting. Each institution has its idiosyncrasies,  the SAG classification system that had been a mystery to me is one of these. Thanks to Lorraine I now have an understanding of this system.  


By offering this orientation to members SAG is ensuring that new library users have an opportunity to be confident library users. Thanks, SAG, for this initiative and Lorraine for being such a great ambassador for the society and the profession of librarianship.

The mobile library...

Mobile Library in Wiltshire Village

I wanted to write about my visit to a mobile library in a small village in Wiltshire, England, last week but it isn't really relevant to a genealogy blog. I woke this morning at 4:00 am and was pondering this when I reflected on my visits to mobile libraries 50+ years ago. A mobile library post is relevant because it is part of my family story.

Last week we stayed with a cousin found through Genes Reunited several years ago. He lives in a pretty little village near Longleat Estate. Although it is not far from Warminster the peaceful village, whose residents appear to be mostly senior citizens, is a world away. The visit of the mobile library provides these residents with a vital link to the outside world through loans of books and videos. We tagged along with our cousin as he went to change his books, while there we met some of the villagers and the librarian. I noted that, as well as providing resources, the library visit fulfils a social role by providing a place where villagers can meet and chat informally.

Friendly Wiltshire Librarian

The last time I was in a mobile library van was in the early 70s when, as Children's Librarian for the Randwick Library service I was responsible for the provision and organisation of library resources for young people. I worked from the main library at Maroubra Junction.

My first connection with mobile libraries was in the late 1950s when, with my parents, I visited the Randwick Library Mobile Service that parked outside the Maroubra Junction Post Office each Saturday morning. Although they had little formal education my parents instilled in me a love of reading, I fondly remember our Saturday morning library visits to that crowded van where the librarian set up a card table on the footpath to record the loans and returns. I was introduced to the world of Noel Streatfeild and Ballet Shoes, Nancy Drew, Sue Barton, Trixie Belden and other characters from England and the US. One of my favourites was Dancing Star by Gladys Malvern, the story of the ballerina, Anna Pavlova.

I guess that my library habit and future career choice was strongly influenced by my early visits to the mobile library at Maroubra that, just like the Wiltshire service, provided me with a link to the outside world  through the wonderful world of books. 

Huggable Belles and Beaus

"Because librarians are cool and they help and love everyone!" I dug into my photo collection to find a photo for International Hug a Librarian Day and present for your interest and amusement a photo from December 1967.

Waverley Library Staff - December 1967

In the photo is Chief Librarian, Ron Lander (centre back), and his staff at the official opening of Waverley Municipal Library's new library in the former Bondi Junction Tenpin Bowling Alley. Geniaus is kneeling at Ron's feet and my best friend of 40 years is kneeling on my right. That library has now gone and has been replaced by the swish "Ron Lander Centre" named after "Uncle Ron" who was at the helm for over 30 years.

We were all dressed in our best gear for the opening but in the sixties we were expected to dress professionally, only the men were allowed to wear trousers to work, so dresses and stockings were the order of the day. These were so practical for putting books away and helping people retrieve materials from the shelves.

I am sending a virtual hug to all my workmates from long ago, we had such fun working at Waverley Library, a library that was ahead of the times in 1967.

Getting the Most Out of the Library - Professors' Guide (usnews.com)

Getting the Most Out of the Library - Professors' Guide (usnews.com)

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Although written with students in mind these tips are timely remindeers for genealogists who use libraries.