Judging from the response to my column on Bibles last month, there seems to be a lot of interest in the topic. Readers responded with questions and stories. I'd like to share a few of these with you.

Copying Advice
Q: How would you suggest that I make copies of the genealogical pages within a family Bible? It would be very difficult to copy on a machine.

A: You're right. Making copies of the pages of any book such as a Bible with a tight binding is a challenge. Some libraries have special book copiers with slant edges so that you can photocopy a page without breaking the binding or ending up with missing text since the page can't lie flat. A variety of companies make these copiers, including Oce and Xerox. They are usually available at university or research libraries. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has several.

I should also have clarified that fragile materials should never be copied. The heat, light, and handling that occur when making a photocopy will only damage them further. Transcribing the information or photographing the pages is a better solution for damaged Bibles.

Membership Required?
Q: One reader asked about access to the Bible records being collected by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) in Boston, Massachusetts.

A: According to Tim Salls, Archivist of the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections Department at NEHGS, “donors always have unique access to the material they've donated.” This means that if you donate a Bible record to NEHGS you will be able to use it without becoming a member of the Society, but membership is required if you wish to access other materials in the Manuscripts Collection.

Some of the Bible records held by NEHGS are available on a CD, “Bible Records from the Manuscript Collections of the New England Historic Genealogical Society” (2001). There are plans in the future for a second publication.

Making Bible Preservation a Priority
Q: Bible preservation is controversial at the historical society where I work. I have indexed our collection, copied the genealogy information, put flowers and news clippings and other items in acid-free envelopes, and wrapped Bibles in acid-free paper. They are stored on shelves in our manuscript room. Some people want to remove the genealogical pages and throw out the rest of the book. My concern is that the entire book should be preserved for family members or other researchers interested in seeing/using them. I would very much appreciate your expert advice on this controversial subject.

A: Whether or not to preserve the whole Bible is a dilemma faced by many historical societies and museums. Some keep just the pages while others retain the entire book as an artifact. Space is one of the considerations. I know of an organization that saves the pages but not the Bible simply because they don't have room in their crowded building. Exceptions are made for Bibles owned by founding families, but the majority of them are discarded except for the genealogical material and the title page. Having the publication information handy can help you decide whether the family data was entered by the original owners of the Bible or by later ones.

Proper Disposal
Q: “How do you dispose of a Bible that is no longer useable? It hardly seems right to toss it into the trash. Is there an organization that will handle this chore properly?”

A: Jacquelyn Sapiie, Library Services Supervisor at the American Bible Society www.americanBible.org offered this advice:

“There is no Christian ceremony or procedure for the disposal of old, worn Bibles. Although everyone agrees that if a book is worn and no longer usable, it should be discarded; discarding a Bible is a difficult act for many people. It should be remembered that a Bible is a book. While it can be called the word of God, it is still a book. It may be helpful to think of the ways we discard books. It would be a good thing to make it useful, and one way to do that is to recycle it. Recycling is an honorable act and that is fitting for a book such as a Bible.”

Worthy Words
Q: Lois Mack Schill, Keeper of the Mack Family Bible responded to the column with a personal question: “I read, with great interest, your article on family Bibles. I have one, but wonder if it is worth sending anyone the information in it.

“The Bible was presented to my great-grandparents when they married in 1875 in Langenau, Wurttemberg, Germany. The entries are very few. It contains their marriage, with their parents' names, the fathers' occupations, the births of their children, the deaths of those children who died before they did, the death of the stepmother of my great-grandmother, the death of my great-grandmother in Feb. 1889, and the death of my great-grandfather in Nov. 1889.

“I have already provided copies to the few descendants. Would it be worthwhile to provide copies any further?”

A: The answer to your question is YES! Contributing copies is a preservation tactic I wish more people would follow. Genealogical magazines often publish Bible records to save them for the future and to make the data available to the public. I wish that someone had thought to copy the pages from my family's mythical Bible. The material in your Bible could solve some brick wall problems for researchers.

Nancy Wagoner benefited from the copies she received from an old family Bible thanks to another researcher and preserved them through her Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) chapter.

“When I first got into genealogy, in 1975, I was given copies of old letters and copies from an 1857 Hughes-Dameron family Bible; copies made by a woman in the 1930s. We had no idea what happened to the Bible.

“Well, I joined the DAR and my chapter's wonderful and farsighted registrar, at that time, was collecting Bible records and other valuable records to place on acid free paper, have bound, and three volumes of these books were given to the national DAR library and several state DAR libraries.

“Years went by and we always wondered what happened to the Bible but, at least, felt so comforted that the records part of that Bible were saved for posterity. My family was discussing a cedar chest, which my grandmother had given away to Goodwill. My brother happened to say, 'I remember an old Bible inside the cedar chest' so, then, we knew what probably happened to the Family Bible.

“It is just magical to me that even though the Bible is long gone, the records are preserved for the public. So, I concur with you that Bible records, and other records, should be shared—both privately and publicly.”

Bible Information Online
Another way to preserve Bible records is by publishing them online. So how many Bible records are online? A lot. CyndisList www.cyndislist.com has a category devoted to family Bible records with several subdivisions. If you've lost a Bible, have one in need of restoration, or are looking for transcriptions, there is plenty available on the Web. Some sites are free, while others are fee-based. One reader wrote to express her wish that “all the family Bible record sites would consolidate—into a free site.”

I hope you've enjoyed selections from my mailbag. Send your preservation questions and concerns to me at mtaylor@taylorandstrong.com.

Maureen Taylor is the author of Preserving Family Photographs (Betterway 2001) and Scrapbooking Your Family History (Betterway 2003).

Copyright 2004, MyFamily.com.