Allen County Public Library
I made my
first road trip to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana which
is the second largest genealogy library in the county. With
a lot of anticipation to make new discoveries I tried to prepare to utilize my
time efficiently. Prior to my trip, I
reviewed the library’s online database for information. I came equipped with my smartphone,
computer laptop, pencils, paper and money for photocopies. There are two
smartphone apps which helped me organize information. The app CamScan allows you take a picture of a
document fine tune the image, label or tag, share or store. This app helped me
save money. Instead of paying ten cent per copy I used the app to make copies
from books. I then organized my
information on the app Evernote. With CamScan,
I could sync information onto the Evernote
app which was installed on my smartphone and laptop computer. I purchased the
premium edition of Evernote because I
wanted to save a large amount of data. Organization is key in genealogy research. Thru the years, I
have found information and saved it, lost it and saved the information again
thinking it was new information. The
Facebook group The Organized Genealogist
has helped tremendously with organizational ideas.
The library
is located in downtown Fort Worth. I
drove my car to the library and for a small hourly fee parked in their garage.
Preparation is the recipe to success for research at the library. Be prepared.
The librarians are not going to help you with your genealogy research. Knowing what you can find and what you can’t
find saves time. I had a list of call
numbers for books I wanted to review from the online catalog. I have made trips
to the National Archives, the Mississippi Department of History and Archives and
the Tennessee State Library and Archives on previous research trips. Allen County Library has books that I have
not previously found. My inability to find information in the past may stem
from my previous inexperience in
research or the library is user friendly and has a great collection.
I found new information about the family trees which I plan to share.
-------The Tree Gardener
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