APG Code of Ethics - Part 7

7.  Promote the welfare of the genealogical community.

This seems to be a good code for all of us to live by. But, first, what is the “genealogical community”? Is it just those who make a living finding dead people (and the related activities involved)? Can it include amateurs who climb the branches of their family trees in their spare time? Does it include those who operate websites and blogs? And would that also include on-line as well as hard-copy magazines and journals on the subject?

Yes. And more.

It includes the staff and patrons of the Family History Centers, National Archives, Museums, Libraries, etc. And the community of people who serve us in Court Houses, Land Records Repositories, Historical Societies, etc. In fact, anyone who in anyway touches the work of us, as professional (and budding professional) genealogists is part of the “genealogical community).

Now that we know who they are, how do we “promote their welfare”? I can think of a number of things.

Donate to the continuance of their services. This would include helping webmasters who are providing their services free to the public with donations to keep those services free and, more importantly, available. And when you get copies at a library or other repository, give a big bill and refuse change (or write out a check to help cover some of those expenses you know aren’t included in the copy costs). Join societies in the areas where you do research, even if you never get to attend a meeting: your donation of membership fees might just make the difference between a society that keeps going another year and one that has to close its doors.

Offer your services: Volunteer to “man” a table at a conference or seminar; offer to give an hour of your time for an “Ask the Expert” program; do some free classes for the local library, Family History Center, or senior center; run for an office for your local society, a regional organization, or APG!

Be courteous: Let people know that you are a professional genealogist and then show, by conduct and attitude, that you are a person others would like to know. We are all examples of the genealogy community: are we making our fellow community members look good? Rudeness, inappropriate language, condescending communication all make us appear to be someone to steer clear of. Help give all genealogists a good name by being an emissary to everyone in the genealogy community and those who have not yet entered our gates (we don’t want them to stay away because we appear to be snobs or worse).

Research Location - Sherman Foundation Library

Sherman Library & Gardens located at 614 Dahlia Avenue in Corona del Mar is open Tuesday through Thursday,  9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. for lunch).  I spoke with Jill Thrasher, Head Librarian, who showed me through the collection and explained the protocol for using the materials.  When one first visits, you are asked to fill out a FREE registration and show your photo I.D.  Then (and every time thereafter), you are asked to sign in at the register.

According to the website (http://www.slgardens.org/the_library/default.asp), the Library acquires, organizes, and preserves all kinds of materials pertaining to the history of the Pacific Southwest.  It contains approximately 25,000 books, pamphlets and other printed items, a very sizable number of maps and photographs, several hundred thousand papers and documents, and more than 2,000 reels of microfilmed material, including the Los Angeles Times from its beginnings in 1881.

The collections include City Directories from all over California, as well as some from Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii.  The Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and San Diego directories begin in approximately 1886-1888.  There are also local histories of Orange and Los Angeles Counties, including information about transportation, waterways, etc.

Only pencils are allowed in the library and there is no photocopying of directories; however, transcriptions and/or digital photos are allowed.  There are a couple of microfilm and microfiche readers available.

Downstairs, there is an archives which includes maps, letters, scrapbooks, photos, newspapers, magazines, loose papers, oversized materials, and other miscellaneous files.  The staff works with you to determine what you need and will pull the specific materials requested.

To maximize your time at the Library, it is suggested that you call ahead (949-673-1880) to determine the availability of materials helpful to your search as well as receiving suggestions from the staff.  I have found that everyone is most helpful when I have called.

Research Location - Santa Ana Public Library—History Room

The Santa Ana Library is located at 26 Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana.  The History Room has been relocated to the back of the main floor and is open Monday through Thursday, 12 Noon to 6 p.m. and at other times by appointment.  The phone number to speak to the archivist Manny Escamilla is 714-647-5280.  Parking is in parking structure P-3 entered off Civic Center Drive and will be validated by the library if one visits the History Room. 

Some resources available include parish birth and death records from 7 parishes in Central and South Central Mexico from the 1710s through 1925 in book format (UCI has the same collection); and on microfilm, the Orange County Register and Santa Ana Register from about 1905 through present (searchable on NewsBank on the library’s computers).  Other newspaper collections include the Santa Ana Standard, 1883-1901, the Pacific Weekly Blade and Evening Blade, 1888-1889 and some issues through 1918, the Santa Ana Leader, 1901-1903 and some issues of the Los Angeles Times. 

In addition, the collection includes Orange County Directories and Phone Books, Santa Ana High School Yearbooks, Neighborhood Association Meeting Notes, the Orange County Pioneer Council Oral Histories (also available at Cal State Fullerton), and 1906, 1914, and 1927 Sanborn Maps.

Check the website http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/library/history/sahrmission.asp for more information.  Everyone at the library was most helpful.  I especially enjoyed speaking with Manny Escamilla.  He was very informative.

Manny told me that the microfilm reader is new but still needs to be set up by the IT Department, which should be accomplished by May or June 2012.  Also, they will do an obituary search for you from their holdings for a fee of $20 per search.  The library is deciding at this time whether to continue their subscription to NewsBank or to get a subscription to ProQuest.  Ask when you call what is available.

Research Location - Newport Beach Public Library

The central location for the Newport Beach Library is at 1000 Avocado in Newport Beach.  Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.  Ancestry.com may be accessed for FREE at the library and, if you have a library card (available FREE to anyone living in California), you can access Heritage Quest from home by logging on to the website:  www.newportbeachlibrary.org and putting in your library card number and password.  If one is visiting from outside California, one may apply for a computer use only in the library card.

The materials that would be of interest to genealogists and family historians reside on the second floor.  These are at the far rear of the stacks and include some beginning genealogy books, some heraldry and lineage books (eg. Burke’s American Families with British Ancestry) as well as the following:  reference books, compiled biographies from 1940 to 2008, gazetteers and county books, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the American National Biography, the Dictionary of American Biography, Genealogies in the Library of Congress, Burke’s Irish Records, Irish Pedigrees, The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans, German-American Names, Welsh Family History, and Hispanic Surnames plus others.

Research Location - Pomona Public Library

Pomona Public Library

625 S. Garey Avenue, Pomona, CA 91769

(909) 620-2043

www.youseemore.com/pomona/

The Pomona Public Library was founded in 1887. A $15,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie in 1901 provided funding for construction of a new building and another grant in 1912 enabled the library to nearly double its size; the Carnegie Library was replaced by the present Civic Center Library in 1965.

The library started its genealogical collection in 1955. Reference librarians are available to assist patrons in the use of the collection which includes some 5,000 books, microfilm, microfiche, periodicals and computerized databases.

Microfilmed newspaper collections include the Los Angeles Times from 1881-present, as well as the local Pomona newspapers since the city’s founding in 1887. It also has the Japan Times & Advertiser from April through August 1942.

The Special Collections Department which is housed on the lower level and open Monday-Wednesday from 2:00-6:00 p.m. includes over 3,000 volumes on California history, some 60,000 photographs by Burton Frasher (1888-1955), the Laura Ingalls Wilder collection (Little House on the Prairie manuscript, letters), and over 4,000 citrus box labels—the largest collection held by any library in the country.

Digital collections available at the library’s website include the Pomona High School yearbooks from 1901-1979, city directories from 1896-1948, and numerous collections of historical photos of Pomona landmarks, homes and citizens. Those interested in the history of the area will enjoy the Blackstock/Allen collection of articles written by Joe Blackstock and David Allen, columnists for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

The Pomona Valley Genealogical Society meets at the library on the second Saturday, September through May, at 2:00 p.m.