BDC@ The Branches Programs in February

FAMILY HISTORY DROP-IN

Wednesday, February 4 at 4 pm – 6 pm |BDC@ Lobeco | Ages 12 – Adults

Charmaine will be on hand to answer questions about how to start uncovering your roots. 

DIGITAL PRESERVATION HOBBYIST GROUP

Thursday, February 5 at 2pm |BDC@ St. Helena| Ages 12 – Adults

Strategies to protect all those holiday family digital images for the future. Drop by. It’s free.

FORT MOTTE

Thursday, February 12 at 6 pm | BDC@ BDC | Ages 12 - Adults

SCIAA Director, Steve Smith lectures on Revolutionary War era Fort Motte, captured by Gen. Francis Marion from the Redcoats in May 1781. This lecture, co-sponsored with the Beaufort Chapter, Archaeological Society of South Carolina is free and open to the public.

A BLACK AMERICAN STORY: STEPHEN BINYARD AND HIS DESCENDANTS

Saturday, February 21 at 1pm | BDC@ St. Helena | Ages 12 – Adults | Reservations Required

A small gravestone on the Air Station was just the start of a decade long research project for Kimberley Morgan and Akosua Moore to uncover the life and legacy of USCT soldier, Stephen Binyard – and BDC staff and library resources have been there from the very beginning.  Sign up: gracec@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468. 

Moore

Morgan

BDC@ The Branches Programs Starting in January

An informal poll of Branch Library programming staff and those Beloved Customers opting in to the BDC E-mail Distribution List indicated that everyone wants more: more genealogy classes; more classes on family treasures preservation; more archaeology programs; more local disasters history;  and more about Beaufort District's famous and infamous characters. It is very heartening - and disheartening - to learn that the community wants more.  It is heartening to know that there are a lot of people in Beaufort County who love local history and who enjoy learning more about Gullah culture and the natural environment.

"Why disheartening?" you may ask.  The answer is "Because the Beaufort District Collection is the smallest public service unit of the Library system with a staff of only 2."  It is very challenging to provide research assistance to our customers, juggle Research Room desk coverage for 35 hours a week, prepare and preserve materials for customers to use, and create and deliver BDC@ the Branches programs and classes at other Library locations. (The next smallest public service unit of the Library system has a staff of 3 to keep that location open 40 hours per week, just saying.) Nevertheless, we usually manage to arrange a few programs to instruct, edify, and sometimes even entertain you!   Here's what's on tap through the Winter into Spring 2014:

BDC@ The Branches Programs, January 2014 – May 3, 2014

Local History, Genealogy, and Preservation Programs sponsored by the Library’s Local History Special collection and archives unit, the Beaufort District Collection

 

   

FIND YOUR ROOTS WITH GRACE

Thursday, Jan 16 at 2pm |BDC@ Bluffton | Ages 12 - Adults

BDC Manager Grace Cordial shows you how to get your family research started at the Library with the Ancestry Library Edition database and other genealogical resources.(A similar program with an African-American focus will be held at St. Helena Branch Library on Feb. 6th)

 

LOCAL HISTORY AUTHOR/BOOK  TALK                                                                        

Tuesday, Jan 21 at 6 pm |BDC@ Beaufort | Ages 12 - Adults

St. Helena Island resident Sonny Bishop tells all about his recent book, A Place Called Home, about Beaufort and St. Helena Island, South Carolina in this BDC-sponsored program.

FIND YOUR ROOTS WITH GRACE

Thursday, Feb 6 at 2 pm | BDC@ St. Helena | Ages 12 - Adults

BDC Manager Grace Cordial shows you how to get your African- American family research started at the Library with the Ancestry Library Edition database and other genealogical resources.

WHAT IS THE BDC ANYWAY?

Wednesday, Mar 12 at 3 pm | BDC@ Hilton Head | Ages 12 - Adults

BDC Manager Grace Cordial gives an overview of services provided by the Library system’s local history special collections and archives.  Expect to see some nifty items from the collection on display after the presentation.

PRESERVING YOUR FAMILY TREASURES WITH GRACE

Wednesday, Apr 30 at 3pm | BDC@ Hilton Head | Ages 12 – Adults

Saturday, May 3 at 2pm | BDC@ Beaufort Branch | Ages 12 - Adults

 BDC Manager Grace Cordial offers tips and suggestions to empower you to protect paper-based family treasures such as letters, Family Bibles, certificates and diplomas, memorabilia, and photographs.  

DIGITAL PRESERVATION WITH GRACE

Thursday, May 1 at 2pm | BDC@ St. Helena | Ages 12 - Adults

BDC Manager Grace Cordial offers practical tips and suggestions to empower you to preserve your digital photographs for your children and grandchildren to treasure.

Charmaine and I hope to see you at one or more of these "Brought to you by the Beaufort District Collection, the Library's special local history collection and archives!"

PS: The Library's Strategic Plan requires that the BDC coordinates only 5 programs within the Library system per year.

Using this schedule as the guide, the score is:
   BDC@ Beaufort Branch - 1
   BDC@ Bluffton Branch - 2
   BDC@ Hilton Head Branch - 2
   BDC@ St. Helena Branch - 2  

Lobeco Branch's new manager, Belinda Blue, arrived Mon., Dec. 2nd so I'm sure that we'll be working on putting together something for lovely Lobeco Branch in the Summer or Fall.

BCL Online Resources: Databases

Have your checked out what hides behind the "Online Resources" tab on our Library's homepage (www.beaufortcountylibrary.org)?  There you will find links to a number of subscription databases we offer our customers, grouped into categories that we hope will make the databases easier to find and use.  

"Online Resources" then "Research Resources"

A few months ago, we rearranged the "Research Resources" to make it more customer friendly. What do you think?  Did we succeed in making the portal more customer friendly? 

Passcodes and brochures on how to access these databases from your home or office are available through all our Branch Libraries for registered borrowers.  Be sure to ask our reference librarians for help. Visit our Programs and Events calendar for formal training on how to use these resources.  

Please note: Ancestry Library Edition is not available outside our facilities.  

Final Call: 1940 Census Workshop

BDC@ Lobeco Branch -- Final “Introduction to the 1940 Census” workshop

Time: 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Location: Lobeco Branch

 

Sign up to find yourself - or your ancestors – for the final session of the 1940 US Census workshop. Basic computer skills are helpful. Limit of 10 people. : Free; Anyone over age 12 interested in learning the ins-and-outs of using 1940 census data to compile a family history is welcomed to attend but registration is necessary. Register in person at Lobeco Branch Library, by calling 255-6475, or by e-mailing gmolter@bcgov.net.

Reminder: Register Today for ALE webinar at STH

October is designated as "Family History Month.” Are you interested in researching your ancestors? Looking for the family’s black sheep? Don’t know how or where to get started?
Perhaps the BCL can help.

St. Helena Branch Library will project the online Ancestry Library Edition webinar about US records posted in that database on Wed., Oct. 26th at 4:00 pm. The webinar is free. Registration is limited to 12 persons. Registration is required. Contact Branch Manager Maria Benac at 255-6486 or mbenac@bcgov.net by Sat., Oct. 22nd to attend.

Free Genealogical Webinars - Act Fast!

October is designated as "Family History Month.” Are you interested in researching your ancestors? Looking for the family’s black sheep? Don’t know how or where to get started? Perhaps we can help.

Genealogical research is very personal and context is key to a successful result. Each researcher has to deal with a unique set of circumstances, personalities, and potential sources of information for each and every person on their family tree. A basic understanding of the history of the places, times, and, surviving records relating thereto is crucial to the research process. As Anonymous once said:

Genealogy begins as an interest,
Becomes a hobby;
Continues as an avocation,
Takes over as an obsession,
And in its last stages,
Is an incurable disease.

Although one has to always remember “There is no ultimate database that has every record ever,” there are some fine genealogical databases available. Numbering among those fine resources is Ancestry Library Edition (abbreviated as ALE).

It’s best to think of ALE as a conglomeration of other databases. It is a massive resource, containing over 7,000 record collections directly relevant to family history research. And, it's not cheap. With the County mandated budget cuts for FY 12, providing this resource to our customers costs almost 30% of the BDC budget for materials (includes books, magazines, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and archival ephemera). Because ALE is a key resource for anyone doing family history research, the BDC provides it to all the branch libraries as well as in the BDC Research Room.

You have to sign up to use our public computers (which is available free to valid BCL card-holders) to access the full ALE database.

We are committed to doing one ALE workshop per calendar year (and did so in 2011, at the Hilton Head Branch, in February). Announcements for BDC sponsored genealogy related workshops appear in here in Connections no less than one month before presentation. But “once is not enough,” and we know it.

Q: So what are some other ways can we help you learn the features of ALE?

A: We can tell you about free ALE training webinars through ProQuest, our vendor for ALE!

There are four upcoming opportunities for you to sign up for the free ProQuest training webinars:

Thurs., Sept. 29, 2011 1:00 pm Overview of ALE
Tues., Oct. 4, 2011 1:00 pm ALE - US Focus
Tues., Oct. 11, 2011 9:00 am ALE - UK & Ireland Focus
Wed., Oct. 26, 2011 4:00 pm ALE - US Focus

The most daunting aspect of the registration process is the URL, choosing the Genealogy section, and then selecting the session(s) you'd like to attend online! You don't have to limit yourself to just one session either.

According to Linda Cubias, MLIS, Supervisor, Customer Education & Training, Eastern U.S., for ProQuest,

• Anyone can attend with an internet connection (including WiFi) from any computer.
• Here are the technical requirements for the computer (included here by operating system).
• For any users that have difficulties joining a webinar, there are recordings available later.

Registrants have two audio options for the ProQuest ALE webinars: An audio broadcast through your computer headset/speakers; or, call in using the toll-free phone number that is included in your email invitation to join the meeting (sent to you after you register directly with ProQuest. We won't have this information to give to you!).

If you have any trouble with home or office access to the training sessions for ALE, contact Linda Cubias, MLIS, Supervisor, Customer Education & Training office +1 704 947 8170 mobile +1 240 672 5695 or linda.cubias@proquest.com.

Please note: Beaufort County Library staff are not able troubleshoot your technical difficulties with personal computing equipment.

To show the difference a little professional reference librarian intermediation can make -

• Hilton Head Branch will set up its computer lab to receive the online webinar on Tues., Oct. 4th at 1:00 pm. Space is limited. Registration is required. Call the Hilton Head Branch Reference Desk 255-6525 no later than Mon., Oct. 3rd at 1 :00 pm to register.

• BYOL (as in “Bring your own laptop” – with sufficient battery power to last 2 hours) to the BDC Research Room on Thurs., Sept. 29, 2011 1:00 pm for access to the online ALE webinar. Space is limited to 2 registrants. Be sure to allot enough time to set up WiFi access before the webinar training. We will be available to answer questions about ALE for an hour after the webinar session. Pre-registration is required. Call the BDC Research Room Reference Desk at 255-6468 to register. Deadline to attend the BDC Research Room session is Wed., Sept. 28th at 1:00 pm.

• St. Helena Branch will project the online webinar on Wed., Oct. 26th at 4:00 pm. Registration is limited to 12 persons. Registration is required. Contact Branch Manager Maria Benac at 255-6486 or mbenac@bcgov.net by Sat., Oct. 22nd to attend.

Why not get a no cost basic orientation to the ALE database through one of these webinars offered by ProQuest as part of your observance of “Family History Month”?

A final way that the BDC helps genealogical researchers is to offer research consultation appointments during our regular working hours. We do our best to guide family historians to possible records with the answers to your questions. Our specialty, not surprisingly, is the old Beaufort District (Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton Counties), South Carolina state records, and Federal records relating to the southeastern US. Call me at 255-6446 to arrange a professional reference librarian consultation session. Advance notice is much appreciated - and be sure to bring along what you already have on the family members in which you are most interested!

The Beaufort District Collection Research Room is customarily open Mondays through Fridays, 10 am until 5 pm.

Caring for Your Family Treasures Slideshow

Before we end our celebration of "Preservation Week," I suggest that you take about 15 minutes to learn how to properly care for your family treasures.

Lyrasis, the nation's largest regional membership organization for libraries and information professionals, is very involved in promotion of "Preservation Week." To celebrate, they Lyrasis have posted a slideshow that informs you about "Caring for Your Family Treasures." It is long (116 slides) but chock full of excellent advice on inherent vice and proper storage conditions of a broad variety of family treasures. Although it may be a little technical for some readers, I believe that it's well worth your time to understand more about how to easily, and cheaply, extend the life of your personal treasures. Prudence in storing and handle your precious family treasures can help you beat inherent vice! Watch the slideshow to learn more about inherent advice (not Miami Vice!).

At the very least, the lead-in slides about the difference between family treasures and items or documents that are necessary following a disaster situation in and of themselves are well worth your time!

Genealogists and Oral History

Genealogists can use oral history techniques to get clues to flesh out their living and dead relatives. Through oral histories, you can find out all sorts of things: how folks were related; what life was like during World War I; what color dress your grandmother liked best; who helped when your church was built or remodeled; what brought your sorority or club into being, etc. The key is to get the information from people with firsthand knowledge while they are still alive to tell the story.

The Beaufort County Library, Penn Center, The Citadel Oral History Program and the Avery Research Institute for African American Culture and History are co-sponsoring a Free Oral History Workshop to help the community learn how to plan oral history projects that provide insight into the recent past for the future.  The workshop will be held Saturday, May 22, 2010 from 10 am until 3 pm at the Beaufort Branch Library at 311 Scott Street. 

Pre-registration is required.  Call 255-6468 or email cseabrook@bcgov.net to register.  Space is limited to 40 participants.

BDC Schedule Adjustment Today

The Research Room is closed while staff participates in a free online archival training session today from 2:00 - 3:00 pm.

BDC Schedule Adjustment Today

The Research Room is closed while staff participates in a free online archival training session today from 2:00 - 3:00 pm.

Schedule Adjustment for Research Room on May 11th and May 13th

The Beaufort District Collection Research Room staff will participate in free online webinars in honor of "Preservation Week" two days next week. This means we must adjust our customary hours of operation while we are taking the classes.

We believe that the community benefits when BDC staff keeps abreast of the best practices in the archives and special librarianship fields. And, we believe that it's particularly good for the community and our taxpaying public when County staff can take advantage of free training opportunities that do not involve travel to and from the training site in these times of financial challenge. Nevertheless, we apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our Research Room customers.

We will close the Research Room from 2:00 - 3:00pm on Tuesday, May 11th and again from 2:00 - 3:00pm on Thursday, May 13th to participate in free online archival training sessions.

The Research Room at 311 Scott Street will be open Tuesday, May 11th from 10 am - 2 pm; closed from 2 pm - 3 pm for staff to participate in the ALCTS free webinar "Archives 101" and will re-open for customers from 3 pm - 5 pm.

We will follow the same schedule on Thursday, May 13th. From 10 am - 2 pm we will do our best to help you enjoy the resources of the BDC; from 2 pm - 3 pm staff will participate in a "Mold Prevention and Remediation" webinar sponsored by ALCTS while the Research Room is closed; we will re-open for customers immediately after the online class at 3 pm.

Again, we apologize in advance for any inconvenience that this adjustment in our hours of operation might cause our Research Room customers.