In the new Internet world, Web pages provide probably the most significant and most referred-to reference sources for genealogists. The discovery of a new Web site with pertinent information to help our research is cause for our excitement and even celebration. Unfortunately, in the heat of the excitement, it's all too easy and compelling to follow link after link until we lose the initial entry point, never to rediscover it again.

It is important to develop the self-discipline to record these wonderful Web site resources in our Web browsers so we can find them and return to them again. If you are a user of the Netscape Communicator™ browser, you are familiar with the term “bookmark,” used to refer to these recorded Web addresses (or URLs). In Microsoft's Internet Explorer™ browser, you know these bookmarks as “favorites.” In either case, as you visit a Web site you find interesting (and that you might return to), you’ll certainly want to record it as a bookmark.

Unfortunately, over time, the bookmark file begins to resemble an electronic version of that genealogy document morass that previously prevented the dining room table or the guest bedroom from being used. (We've discussed that one before, haven't we?) What you need to do is invest some time in organizing your bookmarks so that 1) you can locate Web sites you've bookmarked before, and 2) new bookmarks can be quickly and logically filed for future recall.

In "Along Those Lines . . . " this week, let's discuss bookmarks, and I'd like to suggest some logical categories into which you can organize your own personal set of bookmarks to help you gain control of and efficiently manage them.

Your Bookmarks Are Your Reference Library
Every library has developed an organizational scheme that stores and presents its collection in as efficient a manner as possible. Each library's online catalog (OPAC) also helps users/patrons quickly locate the materials. Think of your bookmark file as an online catalog for your own personal Internet library. Your set of bookmarks reflects the specific collection of Web sites you have compiled to provide you with resources to which you can refer again and again. Your bookmark file can also be logically arranged into groupings of related resources, not unlike the way your local library's collection is physically arranged by type, such as fiction, nonfiction, reference materials, journals and periodicals, etc.

Your bookmark file's contents will vary based on your personal tastes and needs. Therefore, you should give consideration to subject areas and then, perhaps, to sub-areas. Your first thought should be to major groupings, and for each major grouping, you must create a folder in your bookmark file. (Please refer to your browser's Help file for details of how to do this; it really is very simple.)

In my own bookmark file, I have major groupings and bookmark folders for my interests in many areas, such as Games, Genealogy, Investments, Music, News & Weather, Search Engines, Titanic, Travel, and Web Page Design Resources, to name a few. In some of these folders, such as the one for the Titanic, I have placed all the bookmarks inside related to that topic. In others, such as the Music folder, I have created sub-folders inside to collect and more precisely catalog my collected bookmarks. These include folders titled Classical, Jazz, Opera, Rock, and Sound Files (a collection of sites where I can find digitized sound files on the Web). You get the idea? My Genealogy folder is largest with a collection of no less than 103 sub-folders representing my specific research patterns and needs.

Some Suggested Categories
As I said before, your bookmark files, with their folders and sub-folders (and maybe even sub-sub-folders), will be unique to your own research needs. However, here are some suggestions of categories that illustrate a solid starting point.

Surnames. You may wish to define one folder titled “Surnames” and then create separate folders inside it for each surname you are researching. I've done this, and inside the folder titled “Holder,” I have bookmarks to two Holder surname message boards, to a Web site that deals with all instances of the Holder surname, and to the USGenWeb site for the county in Georgia in which the family lived. You might want to make a separate primary folder for each surname. It's up to you.

Locations. There may be specific geographical areas you are researching, and you may want to create folders for separate countries such as Ireland, England, Wales, Poland, and Germany. Each of these folders may include bookmarked links or sub-folders with categorized links. In addition, you might create a single folder for Illinois and perhaps a folder for South Carolina with sub-folders for Newberry, Laurens, York, and Horry Counties.

Religious Institutions. If you use religious records in your research, you may want a folder for them. I use sub-folders for religious sects in the United States (Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Jewish) and separate sub-folders for those in other countries.

Ethnic Sites. Your bookmarks may include ethnic collections for African-American reference sites, Native American resources, Hispanic sites, Melungeon resources, and others specific to your ancestry.

Reference Sites. Here you might include the Web sites for Ancestry.com, RootsWeb, Cyndi's List, and other important sites you use for reference. There may be sites with great "how-to" articles and tutorials or great online genealogy columns that you like to zip to on a regular basis, and these can be included here.

Databases. Include links here to any online databases you use on a regular basis. These might include Ancestry.com, the LDS Family Search site, and other free and/or subscription databases. They might also include databases accessible though libraries' Web pages.

Government Sites. This could be a large collection of sub-folders, depending on your use of government records. I use sub-folders for federal government resources (including the Social Security Administration, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and other sites) and for each state in which I am researching. In each state's sub-folder, I include links to state archives, vital records/statistics departments, and other government entities. I also include a sub-sub-folder for specific counties' resources.

Land Records. If you are researching land and property records, you'll want to include links here to online reference articles, to county courthouses you frequently use, and perhaps to resources like the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office for its database of original land patents and land conveyance records.

Libraries and Archives. An essential part of your bookmarks collection should be a set of links to libraries and archives of all types. My collection includes my local public library, libraries across the area with genealogical materials in their collections, state archives and other public libraries in all the states in which I am researching, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the D.A.R. Library, the Allen County Public Library, the Newberry Library, and several overseas libraries. Remember, you can visit these sites at 2 a.m.! Don't forget links to places dealing with copyright issues (such as http://www.loc.gov/copyright/) and online source citation guidelines (such as http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html).

Maps and Gazetteers. There are many important Web sites containing online maps and gazetteers. These might include the 1895 Map Collection, Ancestry.com's collection of maps, the Yahoo! Maps, online encyclopedias, translation dictionaries, and other resources.

Military Sites. If you have ancestors who fought in any armed conflict, you will find that more and more information is being added to the Web every month, even on existing sites. You will want to include bookmarks with historical, biographical, and genealogical information for your reference.

Search Engines and Directories. Include here the Internet search engines you use on a regular basis. These might include AltaVista, Google, FastSearch, HotBot, and/or a variety of others. Ordered directories such as Yahoo! and others might also be included.

Photography. You may be interested in old photographs and in using online reference resources to help you date photographs in your collection.

Cemeteries and Funeral Homes. My bookmark collection includes a set of links to cemetery resources and to online funeral home professionals’ directories.

USGenWeb Project. My collection also includes a separate folder for this tremendous volunteer project and for its international counterpart, the WorldGenWeb Project. Here you may want to include links to specific Web pages within these groups.

Charts and Forms. There are a number of Web sites where you can find and print pedigree charts, family group sheets, forms for abstracting different documents, logs, etc. I could never remember where to find the forms I like to use without my bookmarks!

Arranging and Ordering Your Bookmarks
Your browser usually allows you to arrange your bookmarks in any order you like. Once you create a folder and/or store a bookmark, you can easily move it somewhere else. Also, don't hesitate to add the same bookmark in multiple places if you think you may access it from more than one folder or sub-folder. And if one arrangement doesn't work for you, feel free to change it. Creating, changing, and deleting bookmarks is a simple process. Invest some time in organizing your bookmarks, and commit to filing good ones in your new system. You'll be amazed at how much more efficient your Web surfing can be.

Happy Hunting!

George

George G. Morgan is a proud member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, Inc. (ISFHWE). He would like to hear from you at atl@ahaseminars.com, but due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual research. Visit George's Web site for information about speaking engagements. George is also the author of The Genealogy Forum on America Online, which is available in the Ancestry Online Store.

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