THE CARE AND FEEDING OF GENEALOGICAL LIBRARIANS
by George Morgan

This week I'd like to tell you about my favorite people -- genealogical librarians. They are the heroes and heroines in our lives who help us locate those special tidbits in their collections that no one else seems to know about. We take them for granted sometimes, so this week I wanted a discussion in "Along The Lines ..." of how to build a great relationship with your genealogical librarians.

First, a little background. Are you aware that most librarians are highly educated individuals? Well, I assumed you did because, of course they love books and can certainly understand the Dewey and/or Library of Congress cataloging system so that the books are always precisely in the right place.

Librarians are college-educated individuals, with most having a Masters of Library Science (MLS) degree. There are very few colleges and universities whose library schools provide foundation coursework in genealogy. For many librarians serving genealogists, what they know they have aggressively learned on their own, from colleagues, and from continuing education opportunities. Many have been "assigned" to the Special Collections area of the library and told to "deal with it." (We've all been there!) Often they divide their time between government documents and genealogy collections. We ask them for help with the latter but they can also provide us with valuable supplemental information from the former collection as well. Respect these librarians for what they have learned and accomplished.

Genealogy is our passion. You and I think nothing about ruining a perfectly good pair of shoes tromping through a muddy cemetery. We'll spend $50 at a drop of a hat for a genealogy book that has only one reference to a "possible" ancestor. We'll risk diphtheria or worse digging though musty records in the attic of a rural courthouse. And we'll stare at a blur of speeding microfilm until our faces glaze over, our eyes roll back in our heads, and we begin drooling on our family group sheets.

It is the role of genealogical librarians to maintain order in their extensive collections -- and to provide whatever help they can.

As the owner of a seminar company in Florida, I teach library professionals in many parts of the state each year. In this week's column, I want to share with you some insights that I've had "Along Those Lines ..." and give you some "Do's" and "Don'ts" that can help you build warm, lasting and mutually-rewarding relationships with these wonderful people.

DO read "how to" books and learn the basics of genealogy research.

DO do your homework before you go to the library. Fill out those pedigree charts and decide which person you're going to work on today.

DO bring your own pencils, paper, paper clips, and other supplies.

DO check the card catalog.

DO ask how to use the microfilm reader if you've never used it before. They are not easily repaired if broken, and broken microfilm is not cheaply replaced.

DO use the foreign language dictionaries. The librarians may be well-educated but chances are they cannot translate your Uncle Guido's Italian diary for you.

DO offer to volunteer to teach others how to get started if you're pretty good at genealogy yourself.

DO consider contributing general interest genealogy books or money to the genealogical collection.

DO offer to help catalog or file manuscripts.

DO thank the librarian for his/her help.

DON'T bring children with you when you research genealogy; they'll be bored and the other patrons may have to kill them.

DON'T ask the librarian "Where's the book on my genealogy?" Chances are very good there's no such thing.

DON'T think you can do all your relatives in one day.

DON'T ask the librarian, "Can you make a copy of my genealogy for me?"

DON'T use Post It Notes to tape flags in the books. They damage the books.

DON'T assume everything is cataloged. There may be some vertical files that haven't yet been cataloged.

DON'T complain (if you're from out of town) because your the doesn't have "everything they have at home" or "everything they have in Salt Lake City." Few libraries have unlimited funds.

DON'T put the books and microfilm away. The librarians keep counts and it's those counts of usage that bring "new funds" and "additional staff" into the genealogy area of the library. :-)

Genealogical librarians can be your greatest friends as you perform your "inside" research. In my travels last summer, I visited Rome (Floyd) GA where I wanted to research my mother's lines. I was greatly helped by Gwen Billingsly at the Rome-Floyd County Public Library. She not only knew her collection, but she gave me referrals to cemetery sextons, an archivist, and other genealogists in the county. She made my trip a spectacular success. Am I grateful? YOU BET! Did I write a thank you note? YOU BET! Will I support anything she asks me to support? ABSOLUTELY!

Finally, the most important thing that you can do for your genealogical library and its staff:

DO come to the aid of your local library when your city, county and state officials threaten to cut the budget. Many officials think that "books can be replaced by the Internet." Genealogists know a lot better than that. Write letters to government officials from the mayor and county board of commissioners to the governor demanding more financial support for literacy through funding for your libraries.

P.S. - A box of chocolates would be nice too! :-)

http://www.electriciti.com/~dotts/diction.html