Allen County Public Library Research Tour 2009

August 16-23, 2009
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The fourth CGS Research Tour to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, takes place August 16-23, 2009. Join CGS President Jane Lindsey for a week-long trip to the best public genealogy library in the United States.

Whether you have visited before, or this is your first time, you will benefit from Jane's individualized attention to your research goals. Pre-planning meetings can be arranged by phone or in person prior to the trip.

Space is limited to fifteen participants. To ensure the minimum tour requirement of ten participants is met, a $200 deposit is required by June 15, 2009. The trip will be canceled if we do not have the minimum, so please E-mail Jane Lindsey as soon as possible, if you are interested in attending. Download the tour brochure from the society website. The registration flier was also distributed in the January issue of the CGS News.

Photograph of the interior of the library is from the Allen County Public Library website.

CGS News - The Last Issue!

The January 2009 issue of the CGS News, Volume XL, No. 1, was mailed to members last week. It's eight pages are packed with important information:

• Annual Membership Meeting Announcement- page 1
• Allen County Public Library Trip Registration- page 2
• Salt Lake City research Trip Registration Form- page 3
• Notes from the President- page 4
• CGS 2009 Calendar of Events- page 5-6
• Genealogy: Intermediate Series Classes- page 7

The most significant news in the page one article by Editor Jane Hufft announcing that this is the last newsletter:

This issue is the last official issue of the CGS Newsletter which has been sent to CGS members for many years. New ways of keeping in touch are in the works, and we want to hear from you as we make this historic transition. My editorial duties will be transferred to the launch of the former “Nugget,” which begins its new life as The California Nugget, to be published twice a year beginning with the spring 2009 issue. Lois Elling, who has been my newsletter partner for the four years that I have been editor, will now take her design and layout talents to the new California Nugget.

I'll have more to say about this new society publication in some upcoming posts.

CGS Mailing Committee

Six times a year a small committee at CGS meets to put the finishing touches on the CGS Newsletter and to insure its delivery to the mailboxes of almost 1000 members and libraries around the world. The Mailing Committee, chaired by Nancy Hart Servin, is a group of nimble-fingered volunteers who attach the mailing labels to the newsletters (which come folded from the printer) and add seals to keep them closed. Oh, and they are FAST! The committee meets at 9:30 a.m. and gets started with their work at 10:00 a.m. I almost missed getting these photos because I didn't show up until noon.

The proverb states "Many hands make light work" – in this case there are a dozen hands belonging to Mary Beth Frederick, Pat Gallagher, Mary Limosner, Nancy Servin and Bob Sweeney. Anne Cyr prints the mailing labels but does not attend the mailing session. Nancy cautioned me that the work of the committee is not a slap-dash process and that there is more to the process than one might think. "It's not the sexiest job at the library but it is an essential one, requiring speedy but accurate hands. The post office is very specific about bulk mail and requires that the newsletters are kept in order by zip code."

Bob Sweeney and Mary Limosner

All the members agree that the best part of belonging to the Mailing Committee is the camaraderie that has developed among them. Pat Gallagher offered this: "As we fold, peel and stick we fall into conversation about our own work and discoveries, ask questions, offer recommendations, tell stories – a little like the quilting circles of yore. We've been helped along by Nancy's provision of coffee and Bakesale Betty's fabulous scones."

Each of the members expressed appreciation of Nancy's contributions to the committee. Mary Beth Frederick noted "Nancy's the one who does the real work, keeping us on track and making sure that we don't scramble the zip codes."

Pat Gallagher and Nancy Hart Servin

Most of the members of the Mailing Committee have other jobs that they do for the society. Mary Limosner is part of the Desk Duty team and does some shelf reading. Mary Beth Frederick is part of the French-Canadian group and she recently taught one of the First Free Saturday beginning genealogy classes. It's not part of the usual service, but she's continued "tutoring" two of the attendees since the class. Nancy Servin serves on the Membership Committee – sending out renewal forms and emails and tracking membership records.

Bob Sweeney likes the fact that the committee's work keeps him coming to the library on a regular basis. A member of CGS since 1980, Sweeney was very involved with producing the two-day CGS family history fairs that were held annually for about fifteen years. Besides creating signs, setting up, tearing down and doing other logistical work for the two-day events, Bob would telephone literally every member of the society to enlist the army of volunteers needed.

Bob Sweeney, Mary Limosner, Mary Beth Frederick and Pat Gallagher.

When the committee finishes the labeling and sorting process, CGS Newletter Editor Jane Hufft picks up the loaded trays and she and Nancy transport them to the post office.

Jane sent this description: "It takes two of us to get the mail to the post office, because together we can remember the route. Nancy is a good story teller, and she sometimes has me listening so intently I run red lights, but so far the newsletters have arrived at the post office intact. Nancy has incredible patience for the bureacracy at the post office – all I have to do is sign my name once, hang on to my car keys, and drive, and I don't always do that very well. And Bob Sweeney always helps us load my car."

Photographs by Kathryn Doyle, 12/15/2008.

CGS News - November 2008

The November 2008 issue of the CGS News, Volume XXXIX, No. 6, has been mailed out and will be arriving in members' mailboxes this week. This month's issue is a scaled back version - only four pages:

• Membership Meeting - Thanksgiving at CGS! - page 1
• Proposed Changes in the Newsletter - page 1
• News for Family Researchers - page 2
• New Members Welcome - page 2-3
• Calendar of Events - page 4

The four-page newsletter was a cost-saving measure that the board took in September. The U.S. economic downturn was just beginning to make headlines so the board took some preliminary steps to curtail non-essential spending. Newsletter Editor Jane Hufft suggested the abbreviated newsletter as a way to save on production and postage costs.

The front-page article - "Proposed Changes in the Newsletter" - addresses some changes that the CGS board has been discussing about the way that the society communicates with its members. Included in the proposal is an exciting plan to resurrect a serial publication similar to the former Nugget. As these plans are finalized, I'll be reporting them in future posts and in the CGS e-News.

The CGS News is edited by Jane Hufft and produced by Lois Elling.

CGS News - September 2008

The September 2008 issue of the CGS News, Volume XXXIX, No. 5, should be arriving in members' mailboxes this week and its eight pages are full of news and information:

• Membership Meeting - Best Bet Web Sites - page 1
• Beyond the CGS Electronic Catalog - page 2
• New Digital Publications & Resources - page 3
• Family History Month Classes - page 4
• Lots and Lots of New Books! - page 5-6
• New Members Welcome - page 7
• Calendar of Events - page 8

The CGS News, edited by Jane Hufft and produced by Lois Elling, is published six times a year by the California Genealogical Society. An annual subscription to the bimonthly newsletter is included in a society membership ($35 per year). For membership information, visit the CGS Web site.

The CGS News - July 2008

The July 2008 issue of the CGS News, Volume XXXIX, No. 4, will be mailed out to members this week and its twelve pages are full of news and information:

• Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet - page 2
• Registration Flier for Nora Keohane Hickey - page 3
• Diversity in American Last Names - page 4
• Registration Flier for NEHGS Library Trip - page 5
• Book Review - Royal Families: Samuel Appleton - page 6
• Nancy Peterson's "Major Northeastern Holdings" - pages 7 and 8
• New Books in the Library - pages 6 and 9
• New Members List - pages 9 and 10

The CGS News, edited by Jane Hufft and produced by Lois Elling, is published six times a year by the California Genealogical Society. An annual subscription to the bimonthly newsletter is included in a society membership ($35 per year). For membership information, visit the CGS Web site.

The newsletter keeps members up-to-date regarding speakers, trips, and other events of interest to family history researchers. Articles on relevant aspects of California history and ongoing publication of vital records are some of the regular topics. Back issues of the CGS News are available at the Web site in the "Members Only" section.

Digital vs. Print - Where do you stand?

Last week many genealogy blogs published the news release sent by Leland Meitzler of Everton Publishers announcing the new Online Edition of Everton’s Genealogical Helper. The electronic publication, which debuts on July 1, 2008 with the July/August issue, will be identical to the paper edition but with added hyperlinks to the Web site addresses published within its pages.

Diane Haddad, managing editor of Family Tree Magazine and its primary blogger at Genealogy Insider, went a step further and asked Would You Read an Online Magazine? referencing Dick Eastman's recent post Printed Newsletters and Magazines are Disappearing. Diane summed up the debate in one sentence:

The entire publishing industry is caught up in the "digital vs. print" discussion, with some swearing it's just a matter of time before all print publications go away, and others insisting people always will want to curl up with a paper magazine or book.

Genealogical societies are also grappling with the new paradigm. The News & Notes, the Southern California Genealogical Society quarterly, announced that the May/June/July issue will be the final print version delivered to members' mailboxes. Editor Alice Fairhurst noted that it is "transitioning to virtual... due to the rising cost of postage, and the fact that most people have internet access.

The California Genealogical Society and Library publishes news and information in three formats: a print newsletter (the CGS News), an electronic newsletter (the CGS e-News) and this blog. In response to the suggestion that this might be information overkill, CGS News Editor and former school administrator, Jane Hufft, quotes the old rule in teaching - "eight repetitions for the average learner."

Each of the society's periodicals have unique attributes that are not duplicated in the other two.

The CGS News, a benefit of membership published bimonthly and mailed to members' homes, features lists of the society's newest members and their research surnames and places; lists of new books and media in the library and original content, such as Nancy Peterson's two-part report "Post-1906 Immigration and Naturalization Records."

The CGS e-News, started last year by President Jane Lindsey with the technical assistance of Kathy Watson, is a monthly electronic newsletter that is e-mailed to all society members who have e-mail addresses (currently 93% of members) and to non-member subscribers. The e-News publishes CGS Ancestors, a place where members can submit interesting old family photographs with a bit of history; Suggested Links from the Blogsphere and Did You Miss These Posts from the CGS Blog?

The California Genealogical Society and Library Blog recently celebrated its six-month "blogiversary" and continues to experiment with new ways to promote society events and feature the work of its volunteers.

There is one significant difference between the CGS print periodical and the electronic ones - the way that readership is measured. Traditional media report the number of subscribers or the number of issues printed. We know how many copies of the CGS News are printed and mailed out to members and subscribing societies but we don't really know how many of these issues are actually read.

With electronic media we have a few more tools in the toolbox. Constant Contact, the e-mail, marketing and survey software used to produce the CGS e-News, provides a report to users that tells how many of the e-mails are actually opened. The results, although high by industry standards, are disappointing: only about 53% of members actually open their CGS e-News.

Blog statistics, such as the number of visits to a blog, or the number of page views, are readily available from sites like Sitemeter or ClustrMaps.

At least for the now, CGS members have three unique periodicals they can read to obtain society news. Which do you prefer?

CGS News - May 2008

The May 2008 issue of the CGS News, Volume XXXIX, No. 3, has been mailed out to members and its twelve pages are chock-full of news and information.

In This Issue:
“Post-1906 Immigration and Naturalization Records: Part I” by Nancy Peterson
Research Trip to the NEHGS Library in Boston: Registration Flier
A Tsunami of New Books, Books and More Books
Book Review, Events, and much more.

The CGS News, edited by Jane Hufft and produced by Lois Elling, is published six times a year by the California Genealogical Society. An annual subscription to the bi-monthly newsletter is included in a society membership ($35 per year). The newsletter keeps members up-to-date regarding speakers, trips, and other events of interest to family history researchers. Articles on relevant aspects of California history and ongoing publication of vital records are some of the regular topics.