Used Bookstores, Flea Markets and Libraries - Oh My!

Due to a recent job change I am thrilled to be working in downtown Tampa once again. As part of my daily walk at lunch I try to post an interesting picture on Facebook. While some folks on Facebook may be getting bored by the photos I am loving it!


Genealogy at Lunch

One of the first places I wanted to check out was the Old Tampa Book Company. When I worked downtown a few years ago I frequented the store and bought some great old biographies. While eBooks may be the rage, there is nothing as inviting as a used book store.

I made my way to the back of the store. Why? From my previous visits I knew this is where the history books were shelved. More precisely historical accounts of wars along with books divided by the regions of the United States.

I found books written about various military regiments, battles, county histories and memoirs. While none were books I could relate to my ancestors I am sure they would be a wealth of information for someone.

Back Away From The Computer

The reason I chose this topic for my blog is simple. Everything we need for our research is not on the Internet. We have to think outside of the Internet!

Does your town or a neighboring town have a used book store? a flea market? When was the last time you visited the library?

Whether you are staying close to home or going out of town on vacation check out the libraries, used book stores and flea markets. You never know what you may find.

Get out and enjoy the great weather, explore some local resources and maybe break down a few brickwalls.

Take Care,

Pattie



Quick Update on More Webinar Opportunities

I have been getting more and more invitations to attend genealogy based webinars so I wanted to start sharing these educational opportunities. Some are FREE only when attended live or free for a limited amount of time. So, if you see something you might be interested in, check it out!

Friends of the National Archives Southeastern Region

The webinars on this site are FREE if attended live. To view past webinars you must become a 'Friend' or 'Member' of the National Archives ($25 per year). The list of upcoming webinars includes:

• Records of the War of 1812
• Using U.S. Federal Records to Locate the Townland of Your Irish Ancestors
• Railroad Retirement Records & Records of the CCC
• Maritime Records
• From Bunker Hill to Koble
• Social Networking - New Horizons for Genealogists

Webinars in the "Members Only" section include:

• Using Federal Records Without Visiting the Castle
• Researching Records Relating to the Five Tribes of Oklahoma... made a little bit easier
• Using Civil War Records to Research African American Ancestors

Legacy Family Tree

The webinars from Legacy Family Tree are free when attended 'Live'. It appears past webinars can be viewed for up to 10 days. The one that caught my eye was by Thomas MacEntee titled "Navigating the 1940 U.S. census". It is free to view until March 19.


RootsMagic

I attended a webinar last night on RootsMagic version 5. While I am not promoting RootsMagic I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a page of free webinars to help folks learn about their product and its features. Plus, they are FREE and it never hurts to shop around!

Take Care,

Pattie

Add LibraryThing To Your Genealogy Toolbox

In a previous blog I wrote about my granddaughter scanning my book collection into LibraryThing.com. My thought was it would be nice to catalog my books and it would keep Tori busy.
Today I discovered that LibraryThing is a great research tool.

Books, Books and More Books
I do a lot of research in Upper Michigan and there have been many histories compiled about early settlements, local remembrances and various community anniversaries.  The problem is if you do not know they exist it is hard to track them down.

Today on LibraryThing I did a search on "Upper Michigan" and hit the mother lode. Not only were there 84 results, but it allowed me to find who the folks were that had the books, if any would be willing to swap, what libraries had copies and which booksellers had copies.  WOW! A lot of information to digest.

So, if you have not explored LibraryThing, take a minute to do a search.

Take Care,
Pattie

Books, eBooks and LibraryThing

I wanted to share this blog entry that I wrote on my Family blog - Pack Peddler's Place

Books, eBooks and LibraryThing

Thanks,
Pattie