What to do this March

We have a plethora of genealogical events coming up in March.  

Thurs. Mar. 12, 2020 – Workshop: Deep Dive into the Internet Archive & Optional Swim in Other Digital Book Collections

2:00–4:00 pm, Members $5, Non-Members $10; Cañada College Library Computer Lab, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City

Presenter: Rachel Kellerman

What treasures can you find in the Internet Archive and other digital book collections to further your genealogical research? The Internet Archive not only includes freely available books published prior to 1923 (public domain), but also books currently in copyright that you can check out from allied libraries and hold in your free account for a limited time. In this workshop we’ll explore the Archive’s assets, practice some search strategies, and learn how to save books into our accounts. An interactive worksheet will be provided.

Sat, Mar 28, 2020 – Preserving Family Photos, Stories, & Documents

10:30 am–12:00 pm, Free. Grace Lutheran Church, 2825 Alameda de las Pulgas, San Mateo, entrance in back.

Presenter: Carolyn Williams

This presentation provides organizational tips and procedures for capturing the story behind a photo or document, scanning the image, and then preserving both the physical and digital photos and documents for the next generation.

Carolyn Williams is a family genealogist and recent SMCGS board member. She holds a certificate from the Boston University Genealogical Research program and is a former Silicon Valley technology marketing professional.

And from around the SF Bay Area:

The Greater Sacramento African American Genealogy Society Registration is now open ONLINE at aafhs.com for the 15th Annual African American Genealogy Seminar. Saturday, March 14, 2020. SEMINAR POSTPONED.  PLEASE CONTACT AAFHS

Silicon Valley Computer Genealogy Group  March 14, 2020, 9am-11:30am

Join us to learn how to “translate” the records and map the land, 

and get some hints about finding the land today.
With Martha Wallace
http://www.svcgg.org/meetings.html
Meeting location: 875 Quince Ave, Santa Clara, CA

Courthouse Docket: Notable Women

The Museum Auxiliary presents Notable Women in San Mateo County History.  The reenactment will focus on local women involved with arts and education.

Sponsored by Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation.

Date: Saturday, March 14, 2020 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Location: Courtroom A, History Museum

Cost: Free with museum admission

https://historysmc.org/events/courthouse-docket-notable-women-0



Santa Clara County Historical & Genealogical Society

General Meeting: “Eco‐History of the Santa Clara Valley: How People Have Shaped the Landscape”

Tuesday, March 17, 6:45 - 8:30 pm
Where: Santa Clara Central Park Library RedwoodRoom
Cristina Siegel
Free and open to all. https://www.scchgs.org/index.html

From the Valley of Hearts Delight to the high‐tech capital of the world, the Santa Clara Valley has gone through tremendous ecological as well as cultural changes. These changes have been shaped by the rich diversity of settlers, people who brought with them their industry, cultures and habits. How did a booming agricultural era, followed by a shift to urbanization affect the landscape, flora and fauna and what are the ecological changes and resulting issues?

Alpine Inn: The Fascinating History of a Local Landmark
· Hosted by Palo Alto Historical Association and Menlo Park Historical Associatio

Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Palo Alto Historian Steve Staiger will be presenting a history of the Alpine Inn, aka Rossotti’s. Steve will be providing images and stories of the colorful and sometimes contentious past of the historic roadhouse in Portola Valley.

Palo Alto Art Center 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto,

Surplus genealogy books?

Surplus genealogy books? 

Here's what to do with them.

You may have a few old books laying around your house that you just hate to part with.  But you want to clear out.  Your spouse wants you to clear out.  What to do?  We’re here to help

Dick Eastman recently ran a column titled: “Why the Library (Usually) Doesn’t Want Your Used Books”  

https://blog.eogn.com/2019/12/02/why-the-library-usually-doesnt-want-your-used-books/.  

But if the library doesn't want them, who does?

Allen County Library will take private collections.  This includes family Bibles (with records) and privately published papers.  It does NOT include how-to books from 1960.

http://www.genealogycenter.org/Donate.aspx

The Family History Library will take similar records, and prefers them in digital format.  They will digitize any papers you send.

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Library_Donations

The NEHGS accepts printed or electronic submissions of family paper and documents.  They do not need to be New England collections, but query first.  BTW – when they say they do not accept permanent deposits, this means something else.  They’ll keep it.

https://www.americanancestors.org/support/donate-materials

Try the local historical or genealogical society:  Obviously, if the material relates to a certain area, you’ll want to query the local society.  Google is a good place to start, or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_societies.   

Locally in San Mateo County we have a few places to take books:

SMCGS, of course.  If you have current books or periodicals of interest to genealogists, please consider donating them to our seminar book sales.  They may be dropped off the day before the seminar.  Contact librarian@smcgs.org for more information.

Friends of the Palo Alto Library accepts almost any type of book.  But they don’t accept periodicals or loose papers.  And PLEASE don’t give them your old Everton’s genealogy indexes or anything out of date.  Last time I checked they had an entire shelf of outdated genealogy books which should be tossed (hello Janette).https://www.fopal.org/donate

Friends of the Menlo Park Library also accepts books, but be aware that they toss many donations.  Books may be dropped at the back door. 

https://friendsmpl.org/donate/books-and-other-items/

Encore Books on the Square, which supports the San Mateo County History Museum also accepts books. https://historysmc.org/encore-books-square

Recycle.  Yes, you can recycle old genealogy information. In our area, Stanford Recycling is the only place I know of which accepts hard bound books.  https://lbre.stanford.edu/sites/lbre-production/files/pssi_recycling_center_guide.pdf

CAVEAT!  Before recycling any book, check to make sure it's available somewhere in both physical and digital formats.  Places to look are https://www.worldcat.org and https://www.familysearch.org/en/

Bottom line:  Get it somewhere that it can be used, and if it can't be used, you have my permission to TOSS IT!

More February Events: Chinese Exclusion Act and Italian Genealogy

Saturday, February 29 at 1 p.m.: Chinese Exclusion Act 
Jennie Lew, the producer/director of Separate Lives, Broken Dreams, an Emmy award-winning documentary, will be the presenter. This is part of their "Court Docket" series. 
https://historysmc.org/courthouse-docket

Saturday, February 29 at 1 p.m.