I arrived in Raleigh, NC yesterday. I was scheduled for two days of research at the NC State Archives followed by the NGS Conference in the States. Sadly I have "finished" the research portion of the trip due to too many negative results (and very crowded facilities because of the impending Conference). I would like to tell you a bit about the NC State Archives, though.
I had previously lived in Raleigh and visited the State Library (in the same building but open on Saturdays, which is why I could use it at that time). This was my first visit to the actual Archives. I am very impressed and found the NC Archives very user friendly. It's not the most technology friendly research room because of lack of power sources but aside from that it had everything I look for in a repository.
The online finding aids for the NC Archives are pretty useful. One of the things I like is a partial collection of Estate Record Indices. These are for the loose estate papers, not wills (those are indexed, also, although I don't know if it's complete for all counties). These finding aids make it very easy to plan your trip so you can hit the ground running when you arrive. There are more printed finding aids available in the Archives Search Room.
There are so many original county records available at the Archives it makes research very convenient. I have often researched at the Georgia Archives and wished some of the original county records were there rather than having to go to the county (and they may or may not be there).
A great thing about the original records available at the NC Archives is that they pull them when you request them rather than you having to wait. It also helps in case there are any problems or miscommunications since you are speaking to the person that pulled the record. The Search Room is fairly small but if you're carrying large record books to a table you'll be glad!
I'm looking forward to going back to the NC Archives when I have more time to prepare my research and when there isn't a genealogy conference in town!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Filing Friday
Filing Friday has temporarily been on hold for a few weeks and will hopefully return on May 22nd. I have been preparing for some research in Raleigh, NC before I attend the NGS Conference and that's just taken precedence.
One update is that I have finally gotten an all-in-one with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) so I can scan multiple pages at once. I had an all-in-one previously but it was so tedious to place each page on the scanner glass that I didn't do much to digitze my files. Also, when it scanned to a searchable PDF it 're-typed' the document instead of displaying the scanned image. I can't believe there isn't a way to change this option but I couldn't find it and I got the new all-in-one before it became absolutely necessary.
The new all-in-one is a 4 in 1, printer, copier, scanner, fax. It is an HP J6480. This machine has been on sale a lot lately (perhaps it's about to be replaced by a newer model) so if you're looking for a new machine it might fit the bill. I've been happy with the searchable PDF scanning. There are of course errors in the OCR but that's to be expected. This machine also works wirelessly and has automatic duplexing which is nice since my computer is a laptop and I'm often working in a different room.
So far I've been able to do everything I need with this device although I have had to tweak settings. One thing I needed was the ability to print on regular paper with extrememly small margins. I oftern create and print brochures for our local genealogical society's events and I've had difficutlites with this on all other printers except this one and my previous all-in-one (which didn't need settings tweaked to print tiny margins). Why a photo printer can print borderless photos but not borderless documents I haven't figured out, yet.
I'm hopinig to get back to cleaning my office and digitizing my files after the NGS Conference. If you want to stop by and say "hi" I'll often be at the Fairfax Genealogical Society booth.
One update is that I have finally gotten an all-in-one with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) so I can scan multiple pages at once. I had an all-in-one previously but it was so tedious to place each page on the scanner glass that I didn't do much to digitze my files. Also, when it scanned to a searchable PDF it 're-typed' the document instead of displaying the scanned image. I can't believe there isn't a way to change this option but I couldn't find it and I got the new all-in-one before it became absolutely necessary.
The new all-in-one is a 4 in 1, printer, copier, scanner, fax. It is an HP J6480. This machine has been on sale a lot lately (perhaps it's about to be replaced by a newer model) so if you're looking for a new machine it might fit the bill. I've been happy with the searchable PDF scanning. There are of course errors in the OCR but that's to be expected. This machine also works wirelessly and has automatic duplexing which is nice since my computer is a laptop and I'm often working in a different room.
So far I've been able to do everything I need with this device although I have had to tweak settings. One thing I needed was the ability to print on regular paper with extrememly small margins. I oftern create and print brochures for our local genealogical society's events and I've had difficutlites with this on all other printers except this one and my previous all-in-one (which didn't need settings tweaked to print tiny margins). Why a photo printer can print borderless photos but not borderless documents I haven't figured out, yet.
I'm hopinig to get back to cleaning my office and digitizing my files after the NGS Conference. If you want to stop by and say "hi" I'll often be at the Fairfax Genealogical Society booth.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tombstone Tuesday
Well, I seem to be out of tombstone photos for the moment. Hopefully I'll be heading back to Georgia for some research this summer and I'll be able to visit some cemeteries I've never been to before. In the meantime I'll be trying to decide on a new Tuesday theme!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Mapping Monday-Downtown Calhoun 1911
Portion of Downtown Calhoun, GA with overlay of 1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
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