Sunday, August 30, 2015

August 2015 Scanfest Held at Google Hangouts



Today's Scanfest will be held at Google Hangouts, rather than on Blyve or the other chat platforms we've experimented with in the past.

To access the Hangout go to this link at any time today between 11 AM and 2 PM, Pacific Daylight Time. You will need to sign in with a Google Account. It can be any Google Account, such as Gmail, Blogger, YouTube, or Google+. If you don't have one, you can create one for free here, either using a current, non-Gmail email address, or by creating a Gmail (Google email) address. Your choice, and free!

We look forward to seeing you!

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Posted by Miriam Robbins at 10:47 AM 1 comments
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Friday, August 28, 2015

Friday Finds and Follows: 28 August 2015



Articles and posts that caught my eye:




My New Genealogy Follows at Twitter:

@ABGenealogy, @dnaworldwide, @MyFamHistFiles, @TxSGS, @familyinatree, @CousinDetective, @AncestorRoadMap


Genealogy Facebook Pages I've "Liked":
  • No new likes this week. Be sure to check out Katherine R. Willson's incredible Genealogy on Facebook list for more genealogy pages and groups.

Follow Me

Check out my websites:
Online Historical Directories 


Online Historical Newspapers

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Posted by Miriam Robbins at 10:44 PM 2 comments
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Sunday, August 23, 2015

Scanfest is Coming!


Update: We will be using Google Hangouts for Scanfest. Go here to join us. You will need to log in with your Google (Gmail, Blogger, Google+) account or you will be prompted to create a free one.

 The August 2015 Scanfest will take place here at AnceStories at Google Hangouts this coming Sunday, August 30th, from 11 AM to 2 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.
 
What is Scanfest? It's a time when geneabloggers, family historians, and family archivists meet online here at this blog to chat while they scan their precious family documents and photos. Why? Because, quite honestly, scanning is time-consuming and boring!

Scanfest is a great time to "meet" other genealogists, ask questions about scanning and preservation, and get the kick in the pants we all need on starting those massive scanning projects that just seem too overwhelming to begin.

To get started, you need to know the basics about scanning:

1. Don't use commercial glass cleaners (i.e. Windex) or paper towels to clean your scanner's glass plate. Use a soft, clean cloth, preferably microfiber. If you must use a liquid, use water sprayed directly onto the cloth  and make sure to let the plate dry thoroughly before placing photos or documents on it.

2. Wear cotton gloves (available at many art and/or photography supply shops) when handling photos and old documents.

3. Don't slide the photos around on the glass plate. Place them exactly where you want them. Photos should NEVER be scanned by a scanner that feeds the document through the machine, but ALWAYS on a flat-bed scanner.

4. Set your scanner to scan at no smaller than 300 dpi (dots per inch). Many experts recommend 600 dpi for photographs.

5. Photographs should ALWAYS be scanned and saved as .tif files. Use "Save As" to reformat the .tif file to a .jpg file for restoration and touchups, emailing, or uploading to an online photo album. ALWAYS retain the original scan as a .tif file.

6. Documents can be scanned as .pdf files or .tif files.

7. When you are done scanning your photos, don't put them back in those nasty "magnetic" photo albums. Place them in archival safe albums or boxes found at websites such as Archival Products or Archival Suppliers. Do NOT store any newsprint (articles, obituaries, etc.) with the photos. The acid from the newspaper will eventually destroy the photograph.

Now about the chatting part of Scanfest:

We will be using Blyve, a live blogging platform that you access right here at AnceStories. On Sunday at 11 AM, PDT, come right here to AnceStories and you'll see the Blyve live blog/forum in the top post. It's not really a "chat room," per se, it's more like a live forum and anyone visiting this site can read and see what is happening in the forum. Google Hangouts (see info above)

You will not need to download any software.

We look forward to having you participate with us!


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Posted by Miriam Robbins at 8:20 PM 2 comments
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Friday, August 21, 2015

Friday Finds and Follows: 21 August 2015



Articles and posts that caught my eye:

This week's post will be heavily geared toward Washington State Resources, mainly because of the Northwest Genealogical Conference held last week in Arlington, as well as recent articles published at the Washington State Secretary of State and Washington State Library blogs.

  • Digitization grants awarded for Washington Rural Heritage, 2015-2016 by Evan at the Washington State Library blog - great news if you have ancestors from Asotin, Clallam, Kittitas, Skagit, Stevens, and Whitman Counties. And if your ancestors hail from other counties instead, check out the Washington Rural Heritage project to see if digitization has been done for those.
  • Jackson Axley at the Washington State Secretary of State blogs has begun a fantastic new series called "A Snapshot of..." which highlights each county in Washington State. An image of the county flag, a historical overview, photos, and fun facts are included in each post. They are being published in alphabetical order. Currently, posts for the following counties are available: Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Columbia, and Cowlitz.
  • Washington's session laws by Judy G. Russel at The Legal Genealogist - Judy highlights some of the historical legal gems available online for Washington state
  • Washington State resources by Judy G. Russell at The Legal Genealogist - another post by Judy, this one highlighting the Seattle regional branch of the National Archives, the Washington State Archives (including the famous Digital State Archives), and the Washington State Genealogical Resource Guide.
  • Jurisdiction Alert - Alaska Court Records by the author of BRB's Public Records Blog - notifies the public of some significant fee rates for record searching and filing for the State of Alaska's Superior and District Courts.
  • On Mice and Men—and Research Habits by Elizabeth Shown Mills at the Evidence Explained blog - the importance of heading back "into the maze" and looking for our "cheese" in different ways and places
  • Glacier National Park : Fire! by Becky Wiseman at kinexxions - My friend Becky came and visited me right after this event. Unfortunately, Glacier Park--and much of the Northwest--is still afire.
  • That was too close for comfort! by Chris Korstanje at My Genealogical Adventures - this reminds me that I need to do another backup!
  • Is it safe to scan curled negatives? by Sally Jacobs at The Practical Archivist blog - I'm always looking for good answers for scanning questions like these, especially when similar ones often get brought up at Scanfest 
  • Museum Day Live! 2015: Free Admission to Participating Museums on Sept. 26! by Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider - looks like I need to put "Visit the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (the MAC)" on my calendar for September 26th!
  • British Movietone Digital Archives Online by Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter - want to watch the same newsreels your ancestors watched? Or use them to highlight a blog post? Check out this free collection!
  • Maggie Bennett Killed By A Train by Lee Drew at FamHist - this sent chills up my spine, mainly because for the last month, I've been putting together a post about my Maggie, also age 12, who was killed by a train in the Midwest.


My New Genealogy Follows at Twitter:

I'll have an updated list next time.


Genealogy Facebook Pages I've "Liked":

Follow Me

Check out my websites:
Online Historical Directories 


Online Historical Newspapers

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Posted by Miriam Robbins at 2:00 AM 0 comments
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