From roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Fri Aug 11 11:22:44 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by admin.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k7BHMijb023261; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:22:44 -0600 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l.rootsweb.com [66.43.16.22]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k7BHMhil031397 for ; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:22:43 -0600 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l [127.0.0.1]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k7BEhHFI028513 for ; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 10:43:17 -0400 Received: (from roots-in@localhost) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.8/Submit) id k7BEhH1a028512 for roots-approved@rootsweb.com; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 10:43:17 -0400 Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com (lists5.rootsweb.com [66.43.27.41]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with SMTP id k7BBCTFI028049 for ; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 07:12:29 -0400 Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) id k7BDpidV017694 for roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 07:51:44 -0600 X-Envelope-From: treviawbeverly@houston.rr.com Fri Aug 11 07:51:44 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by admin.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k7BDpijb017685 for ; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 07:51:44 -0600 Received: from ms-smtp-04.texas.rr.com (ms-smtp-04.texas.rr.com [24.93.47.43]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k7BDpfZ0004477 for ; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 07:51:41 -0600 Received: from oemcomputer (cpe-24-162-26-136.houston.res.rr.com [24.162.26.136]) by ms-smtp-04.texas.rr.com (8.13.6/8.13.6) with SMTP id k7BDpeAJ001544; Fri, 11 Aug 2006 08:51:40 -0500 (CDT) Message-ID: <001c01c6bd4e$69e76930$6401a8c0@oemcomputer> From: "Trevia W Beverly" To: , References: Subject: Re: [ROOTS-L] Interesting question Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 08:59:50 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1807 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1807 X-Virus-Scanned: Symantec AntiVirus Scan Engine X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 Sender: roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Don, the obvious answer is to find out WHO will want them and benefit from them. Presuming you've prepared a publication of some sort for your family ... and hopefully for libraries in the area of the family history ... you now are left with all this paperwork. Even if some family member takes it now, what will eventually happen to it - when they, too, will face the same question? So have you finished your task? A couple of years ago I was on a committee to look at just this sort of material on behalf of our library. The family made an extremely generous donation so we felt that we should take the material even though only someone with one of those surnames will ever use it, and maybe not even then. Notebooks (16) arranged by a single surname, notebooks arranged by more than one connecting family, and notebooks of misc materials. Family charts, notes, photographs (some with full names; some with only first names; some no name), etc. One problem was that the gentleman had 'color codes' and much of the information had been hand entered in those colors. The family wanted it microfilmed. Of course, the colors do not show so the original has to be used anyway. No type of index for any of the notebooks and an almost impossible task to prepare one. Final disposition of the material was to make a preface and then a table of contents as best we could for each notebook. We did not tackle a full name index. All was microfilmed as the family requested and the notebooks were cataloged and placed on the shelves in the Family Collections area. Obviously all this work had given the man many years of pleasure in the search for family. So back to the original question - is your task finished? Looking at your work with the eye of a researcher who will one day pick it up at the library - what will they find? Organized in an easy to follow format? You might even ask a couple of people from outside your family to take a look at it and suggest what they find hard to glean and what they think is good about it, and what they suggest you could do to make it better. How do you have it prepared - in loose leaf binders or file folders? File folders would naturally go into a library's vertical files by surname rather than be left together as a family unit as notebooks would be. And your file folders might not be left as you prepare; they may be striped and arranged as the library feels best. Folks, be sure YOU decided what happens to your work. And leave signed instructions in the same place as your will. If you want it to go to a library, then talk with the librarian NOW and ask how they would like it prepared to ensure that they will take it when the time comes .... in fact, why wait if you are finished with it. Wouldn't it be nice see the material at its final destination and have a hand in its final preparation and hopefully see people using it now? Trevia Wooster Beverly Houston, Texas ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 10:00 PM Subject: [ROOTS-L] Interesting question > wife asked my an interesting question. > > What should she do with all my genealogy info. > > Don