"Tracing Our Roots" Newsletter Archive (A monthly genealogy newsletter written by the late Brenda Kellow, dec'd, for the Plano Star Courier newspaper. We've included all the ones we could recover.)
HeritageQuest (HQ) is constantly trying to make their database easier to access for everyone. There are many new changes in the works according to William Forsyth who is the Director of Product Management for Heritage Quest/ProQuest Information and Learning. Here are a few of the changes he announced:
In the next interface upgrade to HeritageQuest Online -- scheduled for mid-2004 -- we intend to make significant improvements to the search screens, including the addition of SOUNDEX and wildcard functionality. However, experience has taught us that we must provide an interface that is as intuitive as possible, especially for older patrons who might not be very computer or database literate. For example, instead of the traditional wildcard approach using * and ?, we want to provide query choices in a drop-down list such as "Begins with" or "Contains" or "Exact Spelling", etc.
Other interface improvements will include "meta-searching" of names across multiple databases (census, books, PERSI, etc.), making the Browse Census selection more prominent, adding new usage reporting screens and reports (i.e., eliminating Urchin), and more. This may give you a feel for what's coming. At the present time, our highest priority is getting the PERSI Index added to HQO (which also includes a new database and interface design).
SIGN UP TIME
September is Collin County s Genealogy Friends annual membership drive. Dues are $30 per year from October 1 through September 30. Become a member and insure the genealogy library continues to receive all those family history treasures. For information e-mail genfriends@comcast.net or go to their Activities and Events Web site at www.rootsweb.com/~txgfpl and click on Membership. Other Web sites you might want to try are their site for Collin County History and Genealogy, www.geocities.com/genfriendsghl and their historic photos Internet site at www.rootsweb.com/~txcolli3 which has over 2,400 photos and growing. You may mail your check for $30 for a single membership or $50 for a family membership to Genealogy Friends, PO Box 860477, Plano, TX 75086-0477. The annual general meeting is Monday night, October 18, at Texas Land & Cattle on Central Expressway in Plano, 6:30-9 p.m. Free Saturday Morning Genealogy Lectures are the third Saturday of the month at Gladys Harrington Library in Plano.
ONLINE LIBRARY NEWSLETTER
The Allen County Genealogy Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, offers a free newsletter delivered to your email address. To subscribe, send an email to kspears@acpl.lib.in.us and put ACPL NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBE in subject. This is one of the biggest libraries in the country and a must for anyone searching in the Midwest. The library has a huge family history book section and has the PerSI collection of Periodical Source Indexes.
NEW IN THE LIBRARY
New on the shelves of the Gladys Harrington Library are an estate collection of books on Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia too numerous to mention here. In addition, these items were added this month: Newspaper Obituaries, Collin County, TX 1910-1919; Medieval English Ancestors of Robert Abell; Tyler County Cemeteries; Footprints in Time, Abstracts from Lawrence Co., Ala. Newspapers; The Directory of North American Railroads, associations, societies, libraries, museums and their collections; Cecil Co., Maryland marriage licenses 1777-1840; Early Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages in SE Penn., the records of Rev John Casper Stoever from 1730 to 1779; The Transformation of Virginia; The Sourcebook to public record information, 5th ed. A list of early settlers of Georgia; Scotch-Irish migration to South Carolina 1772; South Carolinians in the Revolution; Early Georgia Wills and settlements of estates, Wilkes Co.; Early Georgia wills and settlements of estates, Wilkes Co. Albemarle Co. in Virginia; The Georgians; Sketches of some of the first settlers of upper Georgia.
GENEALOGY III AT CCCC
Genealogy III classes to begin April 21 and runs until May 26, for six Thursday nights, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Preston Ridge Campus. The focus will be on discussing published case studies, discussing individual projects, and doing a hands-on project. For more information see the URL at www.unlockthepast.com.
Brenda Kellow, dec'd, Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Instructor, had a Bachelor s Degree in history and taught genealogy courses at the local Community College and computer genealogy at the University.
