For the last few years Family History Centers have been blessed to have free access to Ancestry.com. As of 1 April this arrangement stopped but there has been some confusion as to what exactly is happening.
While it is true that FHCs no longer have free access to Ancestry's complete collection, the Family History Library Edition of Ancestry does allow FHC patrons to access 43 databases (indexes and transcribed records - not originals). The following list details what will still be available.
These records are still essential to researchers with British and US roots. Please continue to visit your FHC to do your research in these areas. You should also realize that many FHC staff are not completely aware of what is still available as these changes are so new, so please print this blog entry and take it with you.
1841 Channel Islands Census
1841 England Census
1841 Isle of Man Census
1841 Wales Census
1851 Channel Islands Census
1851 England Census
1851 Isle of Man Census
1851 Wales Census
1861 Channel Islands Census
1861 England Census
1861 Isle of Man Census
1861 Wales Census
1871 Channel Islands Census
1871 England Census
1871 Isle of Man Census
1871 Wales Census
1880 United States Federal Census
1881 Channel Islands Census
1881 England Census
1881 Isle of Man Census
1881 Wales Census
1891 Channel Islands Census
1891 England Census
1891 Isle of Man Census
1891 Wales Census
1900 United States Federal Census
1920 United States Federal Census
Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959
Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948
Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1943
California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957
Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1957
England & Wales, Birth Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Death Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1837-1983
Florida Passenger Lists, 1898-1951
Galveston Passenger Lists, 1896-1948
New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945
Seattle Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957
U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
While it is true that FHCs no longer have free access to Ancestry's complete collection, the Family History Library Edition of Ancestry does allow FHC patrons to access 43 databases (indexes and transcribed records - not originals). The following list details what will still be available.
These records are still essential to researchers with British and US roots. Please continue to visit your FHC to do your research in these areas. You should also realize that many FHC staff are not completely aware of what is still available as these changes are so new, so please print this blog entry and take it with you.
1841 Channel Islands Census
1841 England Census
1841 Isle of Man Census
1841 Wales Census
1851 Channel Islands Census
1851 England Census
1851 Isle of Man Census
1851 Wales Census
1861 Channel Islands Census
1861 England Census
1861 Isle of Man Census
1861 Wales Census
1871 Channel Islands Census
1871 England Census
1871 Isle of Man Census
1871 Wales Census
1880 United States Federal Census
1881 Channel Islands Census
1881 England Census
1881 Isle of Man Census
1881 Wales Census
1891 Channel Islands Census
1891 England Census
1891 Isle of Man Census
1891 Wales Census
1900 United States Federal Census
1920 United States Federal Census
Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959
Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948
Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1943
California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957
Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1957
England & Wales, Birth Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Death Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1837-1983
Florida Passenger Lists, 1898-1951
Galveston Passenger Lists, 1896-1948
New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945
Seattle Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957
U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Looking to clean your art studio or other carpeted area in your house? Well consider a Hoover SteamVac. I purchased a Hoover SteamVac with CleanSurge as an impulse purchase when they were on sale at Sears the other day for $249 (reg $279). To recap, we have two small children that like to throw food on the floor when eating so our dining room carpet has been getting very stained.
Just to explain, a SteamVac doesn't actually use steam, just hot water and cleaning solution. The Hoover SteamVac with CleanSurge heats the water/solution mix to the desired temperature, dispensing it on the carpet and sucking the solution back up through the vacuum. Hot air running through the unit helps dry the carpet (although it still takes a couple of hours to dry fully).
Today was my first time using the unit and, boy, was I impressed! I did 2 rooms (dining and bedroom) using about 10oz solution total refilling twice and emptying dirty water three times - my one complaint is that the clean tank is bigger than the dirty tank, so you need to stop at different times to refill/empty.
The water that came out of the carpet was black. There was sludge at the bottom of the dirty water tank that looked like it had sand in it (ok, I confess, this was 3 years of dirt, but still, it's not like I don't vacuum...). Anyway, the carpets look great. They took about 2 hours to completely dry and the solution contains scotchguard so it should have some resistance to getting dirty.
I highly recommend a Hoover SteamVac with CleanSurge for anyone that wants to clean their carpets themselves, both saving money and being more convenient than a professional cleaning service. Now I've seen how dirty my carpets were I want to do the rest of the house including my studio that has pastel dust all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see if the water is black or ultramarine blue!
Just to explain, a SteamVac doesn't actually use steam, just hot water and cleaning solution. The Hoover SteamVac with CleanSurge heats the water/solution mix to the desired temperature, dispensing it on the carpet and sucking the solution back up through the vacuum. Hot air running through the unit helps dry the carpet (although it still takes a couple of hours to dry fully).
Today was my first time using the unit and, boy, was I impressed! I did 2 rooms (dining and bedroom) using about 10oz solution total refilling twice and emptying dirty water three times - my one complaint is that the clean tank is bigger than the dirty tank, so you need to stop at different times to refill/empty.
The water that came out of the carpet was black. There was sludge at the bottom of the dirty water tank that looked like it had sand in it (ok, I confess, this was 3 years of dirt, but still, it's not like I don't vacuum...). Anyway, the carpets look great. They took about 2 hours to completely dry and the solution contains scotchguard so it should have some resistance to getting dirty.
I highly recommend a Hoover SteamVac with CleanSurge for anyone that wants to clean their carpets themselves, both saving money and being more convenient than a professional cleaning service. Now I've seen how dirty my carpets were I want to do the rest of the house including my studio that has pastel dust all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see if the water is black or ultramarine blue!
The following is a press release from Genealogical Society of Utah (Familysearch.org):
One Million Historical Names from Canada Go Online
Nova Scotia Releases Early Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Early vital records of Nova Scotia, Canada, are viewable over the Internet for the first time and for free, thanks to a joint project by the Genealogical Society of Utah, FamilySearch, and the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM). The records include one million names found in birth records from 1864 to 1877, marriages from 1864 to 1930, and death records from 1864 to 1877 and 1908 to 1955. Users can search the database at http://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/.
Nova Scotia is the first province in Canada to digitize all of its historical vital statistics and make them available online. "This project provides key information to researchers on their ancestors," said Genealogical Society of Utah regional manager Alain Allard. "It involves the vital records-births, marriages, and deaths-which are a key record set to find, identify, and link ancestors into family units."
The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) first microfilmed most of Nova Scotia's vital records back in the 1980s. In 2005, GSU used FamilySearch Scanning to convert those microfilms to digital images, while at the same time capturing additional vital records with a specially designed digital camera. Volunteers for the Nova Scotia Archives then used the images to create the searchable electronic index, which was completed in 2006.
Anyone can now search names in the index and view a high quality digital copy of the original image online for free at NSARM's Web site, http://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/. In the near future, the index and images will also be available on FamilySearch.org. Researchers who want to obtain an official copy of a record can do so online through the Nova Scotia Archives. The cost will be CAN$9.95 for an electronic file and CAN$19.95, plus shipping and taxes, for paper copies.
Nova Scotia Provincial Archivist, W. Brian Speirs, said the cooperation of GSU was crucial to this important project. "Without the Genealogical Society of Utah offering in the early days of the project to provide complimentary digitization of all the records as their contribution to the initiative, the proposed undertaking would have been dead in the water and gone nowhere," Speirs said.
FamilySearch is the public channel of the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU), a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch maintains the world's largest repository of genealogical resources accessed through FamilySearch.org, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries.
One Million Historical Names from Canada Go Online
Nova Scotia Releases Early Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Early vital records of Nova Scotia, Canada, are viewable over the Internet for the first time and for free, thanks to a joint project by the Genealogical Society of Utah, FamilySearch, and the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM). The records include one million names found in birth records from 1864 to 1877, marriages from 1864 to 1930, and death records from 1864 to 1877 and 1908 to 1955. Users can search the database at http://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/.
Nova Scotia is the first province in Canada to digitize all of its historical vital statistics and make them available online. "This project provides key information to researchers on their ancestors," said Genealogical Society of Utah regional manager Alain Allard. "It involves the vital records-births, marriages, and deaths-which are a key record set to find, identify, and link ancestors into family units."
The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) first microfilmed most of Nova Scotia's vital records back in the 1980s. In 2005, GSU used FamilySearch Scanning to convert those microfilms to digital images, while at the same time capturing additional vital records with a specially designed digital camera. Volunteers for the Nova Scotia Archives then used the images to create the searchable electronic index, which was completed in 2006.
Anyone can now search names in the index and view a high quality digital copy of the original image online for free at NSARM's Web site, http://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/. In the near future, the index and images will also be available on FamilySearch.org. Researchers who want to obtain an official copy of a record can do so online through the Nova Scotia Archives. The cost will be CAN$9.95 for an electronic file and CAN$19.95, plus shipping and taxes, for paper copies.
Nova Scotia Provincial Archivist, W. Brian Speirs, said the cooperation of GSU was crucial to this important project. "Without the Genealogical Society of Utah offering in the early days of the project to provide complimentary digitization of all the records as their contribution to the initiative, the proposed undertaking would have been dead in the water and gone nowhere," Speirs said.
FamilySearch is the public channel of the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU), a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch maintains the world's largest repository of genealogical resources accessed through FamilySearch.org, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries.
Due to continued Picasa/Blogger photo posting problems I will be posting family photos to my Zooomr site http://beta.zooomr.com/photos/marinagarrison Take a look!
So after taking iView MediaPro for a whirl, I've decided it's just too slow for my computer. Each time I click on something it goes into the "Not Responding" mode on my computer. I've tried having the catalog locally but the problem doesn't go away. I don't plan to load my photos on my laptop so I don't know if that will fix the problem as I didn't try.
In the meantime, I am taking the opportunity to use Adobe Bridge (part of Photoshop) to catalog my photos with keywords and ratings. This will take me a good week or so to finish up. These ratings and keywords should be recognizable by most programs and are written directly into my .jpg files.
In addition, I'm going to test drive both Flickr and Zooomr as photo galleries. More on this soon.
In the meantime, I am taking the opportunity to use Adobe Bridge (part of Photoshop) to catalog my photos with keywords and ratings. This will take me a good week or so to finish up. These ratings and keywords should be recognizable by most programs and are written directly into my .jpg files.
In addition, I'm going to test drive both Flickr and Zooomr as photo galleries. More on this soon.
I've amassed almost 5000 digital photos during my 4 years as a digital camera owner. Finding a particular photo is getting more and more difficult so I decided to look into Digital Asset Management. The bible for DAM is "The DAM Book" which I recommend reading if you are interested. Basically the approach advocates adding keywords and ratings for all images and to have multiple backups of your images.
While I do currently backup my photos as part of my regular backup, I don't back them up separately, and for now that's ok (2 copies exist). However, I have really been slacking off on the keywords and ratings of my images. As part of a plan to get organized (now that I have a lot of time on my hands) I have decided to rate and keyword all my images.
Before I get started, I thought I'd take a look to see if I should change my DAM program. I have been using Photoshop Elements 5 (previously 3 and 2) to manage my photos but it is getting slower and slower to navigate and find the photos I'm looking for and I can't access my catalog from my 2nd computer, a laptop. So I downloaded trials of both Lightroom 1.0 and iView MediaPro 3.1 to see if I might prefer one of those programs instead.
While Lightroom's DAM features are quite powerful, it does miss a few key points that iView MediaPro has:
unable to DAM files that are no longer connected (i.e. files are removed and are on DVD/CD can't be keyworded or rated) - this would also include a disconnected laptop where the files are stored on the network unable to reset paths (if file structure is changed can't reconnect files except on an individual basis - not fun with 5000 files)
unable to run a catalog across a network (this means the catalog can't be stored on one computer i.e. server and accessed from a client i.e. laptop - this might not be important for most people but this my preferred setup. I like to use programs from my laptop but run everything off my desktop/server. This makes for easy backups as only the server needs to be backed up. My dream setup would be to have two catalogs so that I could access it from both locations including as well as while disconnected from the network and sync the two catalogs back together!
OTOH, you are able to edit photos in Lightroom (similar to PSE) whereas iView MediaPro only calls the editing program of your choice to take over. Lightroom will also convert NEF files whereas iView MediaPro won't (you need to import/convert them using Adobe Camera RAW/DNG converter).
So what's my verdict? At this point I'm struggling to decide. On the one hand it'd be nice to have only one application to deal with (Lightroom does everything) but it's lack of flexibility when it comes to using network drives and it's inability to reset the paths as a workaround doesn't work for me either. I expect that I will probably re-evaluate Lightroom in a future version but until then, I won't be using it.
While I do currently backup my photos as part of my regular backup, I don't back them up separately, and for now that's ok (2 copies exist). However, I have really been slacking off on the keywords and ratings of my images. As part of a plan to get organized (now that I have a lot of time on my hands) I have decided to rate and keyword all my images.
Before I get started, I thought I'd take a look to see if I should change my DAM program. I have been using Photoshop Elements 5 (previously 3 and 2) to manage my photos but it is getting slower and slower to navigate and find the photos I'm looking for and I can't access my catalog from my 2nd computer, a laptop. So I downloaded trials of both Lightroom 1.0 and iView MediaPro 3.1 to see if I might prefer one of those programs instead.
While Lightroom's DAM features are quite powerful, it does miss a few key points that iView MediaPro has:
unable to DAM files that are no longer connected (i.e. files are removed and are on DVD/CD can't be keyworded or rated) - this would also include a disconnected laptop where the files are stored on the network unable to reset paths (if file structure is changed can't reconnect files except on an individual basis - not fun with 5000 files)
unable to run a catalog across a network (this means the catalog can't be stored on one computer i.e. server and accessed from a client i.e. laptop - this might not be important for most people but this my preferred setup. I like to use programs from my laptop but run everything off my desktop/server. This makes for easy backups as only the server needs to be backed up. My dream setup would be to have two catalogs so that I could access it from both locations including as well as while disconnected from the network and sync the two catalogs back together!
OTOH, you are able to edit photos in Lightroom (similar to PSE) whereas iView MediaPro only calls the editing program of your choice to take over. Lightroom will also convert NEF files whereas iView MediaPro won't (you need to import/convert them using Adobe Camera RAW/DNG converter).
So what's my verdict? At this point I'm struggling to decide. On the one hand it'd be nice to have only one application to deal with (Lightroom does everything) but it's lack of flexibility when it comes to using network drives and it's inability to reset the paths as a workaround doesn't work for me either. I expect that I will probably re-evaluate Lightroom in a future version but until then, I won't be using it.
