Take a look at genealogy research
on the internet and we should have plenty of time for questions and answers.
Also, bring along your special site for doing genealogy research and share
it with the group.
Local Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Volusia Computer Genealogy Group Web Site http://www.rootsweb.com/~flvcgg/ The Volusia Computer Genealogy
Group is an organization devoted to assisting family history researchers
use computers effectively. Dues are $10 / year. The meetings are on the
first Wednesday at 1:30 pm at the City Island Library Center in Daytona
Beach. Visitors are ALWAYS welcome. They use a color projection device
donated with the assistance of the Group to the City Island Library Center.
New interactive computer software and internet material are reviewed at
the meetings on a big screen for all to see. Programs also include workshops
and speakers on computer-oriented genealogy matters.
Central Florida Genealogical Society http://www.geocities.com/cfgscfgs/ This site tells you about
upcoming programs for the Central Florida Genealogical Society that meets
in Orlando.
VueSlide
http://www.hamrick.com/arc.html You can download the very
small program called VUESLIDE. Place it in a directory where you have pictures
that you want displayed and it will do an easy slide show for you.
I suspect that most of us have
heard about the records stored inside a mountain near Salt Lake City. However,
very few of us know any details about this storage facility. Now the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a press release that describes
the facility in some detail:
Secured in a catacomb of
stone within a mountainside of Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon, the Granite
Mountain Records Vault of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
safeguards one of the world’s largest collections of filmed genealogical
records.
Some 200 feet above the
canyon road, the row of giant portals and the concrete building that protrude
out of solid granite are only a hint of what lies behind the stone.
A network of tunnels that
reach nearly 700 feet into the mountain stores more than 2.3 million rolls
of microfilm, the equivalent of about 6 million 300-page volumes. It also
shelters 180,000 sets of microfiche, each set containing about 900 images.
"There’s no other facility
like this in the world," says Wayne Metcalfe, director of Field Services
and Support in the Church’s Family and Church History Department. "No other
organization has anything that compares to it." The vault’s films date
back to 1938 when the Genealogical Society of Utah began using microfilm.
Initially, only 12 rolls were created, but as microfilm technology improved,
the collection grew, and so did the need for a controlled storage environment.
Construction of an edifice
that would house the records began in 1960, with hard-rock miners hoisting
themselves on platforms up the granite wall, drilling and blasting their
way into the mountain. The vault was completed and officially opened in
1966, and its collection has since expanded to contain records from 105
countries.
Vault manager Wayne Crosby
says few visitors are allowed inside, but not because of any secrecy surrounding
the structure.
"The reason is to ensure
that we maintain the environment of the vault," Metcalfe explains. "This
collection represents a lot of money, time and effort. We want to ensure
its long-term preservation."
Crosby explains a framed
floor plan that hangs from the corrugated-steel lining of the tunnel wall.
The plan maps out how the facility is separated into two sections, one
for storage, the other for production.
From there he moves to a
central corridor that connects six storage vaults. The temperature drops
noticeable.
According to Crosby, careful
measures to safeguard the film include monitoring the climate inside the
vault and keeping it at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 30 percent humidity –
ideal conditions for long-term film storage. In addition, a computer monitors
an extensive air-filtration system designed to protect the microfilm from
contaminants.
Entering one of the storage
vaults, he encounters row of metal cabinets 25 feet wide, 15 feet tall
and approximately 200 feet long facing each other. Each cabinet contains
row upon row of drawers filled with 35mm and 16mm microfilm rolls.
"These records are from
all parts of the world," Crosby says. Opening a drawer, he selects a labeled
box, carefully removes the roll, then holds the film up to the light. It’s
an original negative of a registry record from Germany, filmed in 1968.
Crosby leads the tour from
the protective storage area to the vault’s production center, where skilled
staffs are busy inspecting the cleaning film. They’re also making copies
of microfilm and microfiche records. On any given day, workers create nearly
1,000 rolls of microfilm and 100 sets of microfiche,
According to Crosby, this
reproduced film replaces older, well-worn records and provides copies that
can be distributed for genealogical research. Originals remain in the vault.
Although the copies are used primarily by the Church’s Family History Library
in Salt Lake City, they also are distributed to other nonprofit organizations,
including family history societies and academic institutions.
Even without the reproduction
of microfilm and microfiche, the number of records in the vault is constantly
growing. Currently, 275 cameras in 44 countries are filming additional
records that will be added to the vault’s collection.
This global effort by the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes working closely with
governments and archivists to secure permissions and to strictly observe
privacy laws and accepted standards for filming and record preservation.
For example, the Church
does not pursue the filming of records of living individuals. Records are
generally of persons who have been deceased for 100 years or more.
In light of today’s automated
records systems, Latter-day Saints join genealogical groups worldwide in
looking forward to more efficient, electronic preservation technologies.
"There has not yet been
a technology developed that ensures the long-term preservation of digitized
or electronic data," says Metcalfe. "Once that technology is available
we’ll no longer depend on microfilming." But regardless of the available
technology, the Granite Mountain Records Vault, says Metcalfe, "is a remarkable
testament to the perseverance and dedication of thousands of people who
have preserved the records and others who have filmed those records, thus
protecting the few priceless traces of individuals’ lives on this earth."