A Date at my Local

Details of my next talk at my local library , Hornsby Shire Library, have been firmed up. I enjoy meeting up with local people who share my passion for family history; hopefully I will be able to share some tips that will help them further their research. Thanks to Neil Chippendale, Local Studies Co-ordinator at the Library, for the invitation to present.

I will be presenting a session GeneaGoogling : Effective Google Searches at the library at 6:30 pm on Wednesday 27 February. This will be a basic session that introduces attendees to some simple strategies to optimise their use of the Google Search Engine.

Bookings are essential; details will appear on the library website shortly. The library charges a small fee for attendance of these events

Society of Genealogists

Arriving at SoG

Although my recent journey was not a genealogy holiday I did schedule in a couple of days to visit The Society of Genealogists in London.


Before my visit I was a good girl and spent a few hours consulting their OPAC and drawing up a list of resources to find. I had no trouble locating their building in a dingy part of London after my tube ride from Kensington.

As it was 18 pounds per day to use their facilities and 41 pounds to join the Society I opted for membership. As I was going to spend two days there this seemed worthwhile. After filling in the membership form and being issued with a temporary membership card and a folder full of paper I was on my way. The gentleman on the desk was not particularly welcoming to me or the two Americans who were joining at the same time as me so I was pleased that I had read all of the information on the Society website before going along.

The Bookshop and Reception Desk

Having deposited my goods in the locker room I  made my way to the library to start my investigations.    Within a few hours I was able to find all of the resources I was seeking although their contents did not yield the treasure I had been hoping for. There is an enormous amount of printed material in the collection but I found that their classification system did not, like Dewey, clump all resources on a similar subject together closely so browsing the shelves was not so easy for me.

I spent just two days at the Society. On the second day I attended a free talk for members, by the SoG 

Librarian, Tim Lawrence. The content of this lecture 

about which I will blog separately made me pleased about my decision to join the Society.

Banks of printed resources

Although it was spotlessly clean I found the environment at the Society a bit shabby with mismatched chairs and daggy carpet (an issue for many organisations with limited budgets) The computers on the lower ground floor were rather new and it was easy to get access to these as visitors on the days I attended were thin on the ground.  Space appears to be at a premium in this building that is bulging with resources; the people who work here must be very fit from running up an down the stairs from floor to floor.

It was frustrating that there was no wifi available in the building ; I was told that there was a trial happening soon. I would happily have paid more for this facility.

One could certainly spend weeks in this establishment browsing through the resources on offer. The bias in their collection is certainly towards English resources although there is a bit on Scotland and Ireland and a few things on other countries. I just hope that I can return within the next twelve months to get more value from my membership.

Card index stashed in a corner

I went up and down stairs in this multi-level building

2012 - A Very Good Year

One of my promises last year was to post a compilation of links to responses to my Accentuate the Positive 2012 Geneameme.

The initial responses are from Australian Geneablogging stalwarts and Julie Goucher from the UK (who is an honorary Aussie). I hope that as the days go by, some international Geneabloggers will take up this challenge and share their Geneatriumphs from 2012.

I urge you to take some time to read these posts - you never know what you might learn.

Jill Ball GeniAus
Sharon Brennan The Tree of Me
Pam Carter  My Maine Ancestry
Pauleen Cass Family History Across the Seas
Linda Elliott Mad about Genealogy
Julie Goucher Anglers Rest
Shauna Hicks SHHE Gebie Rambles
Celia Lewis Twigs and Trees
Maffra and District Historical Society (Blogger Linda)
Maggie  iwiKiwi
Mel  The Research Journal
Aillin O'Brien Australian Genealogy Journeys
A Rebel Hand
Deb Ruth Adventures in Genealogy
Merron Riddiford My Western District Families
Dr Bill Smith  Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories
Julie Cahill Tarr  Genblog
Alona Tester Lonetester
Sharn White  FamilyHistory4U
Stratford Historical Society (Blogger Linda)
Jackie van Bergen Jax Trax
Judy Webster Genealogy Leftovers
Kylie Willison Kylie's Genes
Becky Wiseman Kinnexions

Should I have missed your response I apologise. Please let me know and I will add it ASAP.

Bring on 2013

I posted this greeting on Twitter and am copying it here for those of you who may not tweet.

Greetings to my Genimates: Hoping that in 2013 your brickwalls tumble and you have opportunities for many Happy Dances #genealogy -- Jill Ball (@geniaus)