Genealogy A Practical Guide for Librarians [Hardcover]

This recent installment in the 'Practical Guides for Librarians' series covers what one would expect to find in an introductory guide to genealogy research. Pennavaria clearly presents tips on using census, military, immigration, and vital records. Subjects discussed include dealing with errors in official documents, working with online databases, and locating records in foreign countries. . . .Verdict: Librarians who wish to become genealogists or to update their genealogy collection will appreciate this work.Pennavaria has produced a very useful introduction to genealogy and to the numerous resources that are worth checking in ones search to uncover family history. I recommend it highly for libraries and for individual use.In an online world offering billions of available records and thousands of same-name people, what does the librarian and genealogist need to know to produce meaningful, reliable family histories? In an engaging style, Pennavaria covers all the genealogical essentials a librarian needs to know to serve the needs of a diverse population base.Genealogy: A Practical Guide for Librarians covers the big picture of genealogy and evidence-based research, plus the variety and availability of many record types, but also provides practical advice for both researchers and librarians.Commercials for the largest subscription database indicate that the process of genealogy is simpleyou just plug in what you know, and the database does the rest! Those ads might sell subscriptions, but they are misleading. Getting beyond that low-hanging fruit is not so easy; collecting the records and data needed to delineate a family tree accurately requires time, organization, and informed searching. Records are available from many places, and finding them is never a one-stop shopping experience. So how does the new researcher identify which resources meet his or her specific research needs? And how can libraries and librarians best help this new generation of genealolCØ