Reflections

     Being a librarian in a research library for the last seven years, I've had a fair bit of experience with databases in my profession.  Ancestry, FamilySearch, Heritage Quest, and other genealogy databases are used by our patrons on a daily basis, so I much know the best ways of navigating them to explain them to our researchers.  I wanted to try out a variety of new databases to see if any of them could benefit our patrons, and see how they would apply to a genealogical setting.


     The variety of databases that were searched in this class was interesting.  I almost always found something that related to genealogy, even if it was a stretch for a true researcher.  The court cases were my favorite to search, followed by DNA information.  A researcher could find a lot of information in those areas if they knew where and how to look. 


    While I knew most of the search strategies covered in this class from taking other database classes, the teacher covered them in a different way than other teachers that I enjoyed.  It's always beneficial to learn a new way of imparting information, so that when you go to teach other that information, you can tailor your learning strategy to them.  I especially liked making my project a blog so that it was easy to keep up with and easy to read.  Reading others' blogs was informative as well.


   Overall, I believe that this was a worthwhile class in database searching.  It allowed a good and comprehensive look into a variety of databases, and covered search tactics and filtering to ensure a result list that is comprehensive and relevant.

Statistical database

I searched the Pew Research Center for statistics about genealogists and found a very interesting statistic in a report about public library users. 

 I found an article that mentioned genealogy in libraries specifically:

 

 

Access historical documents or archives or genealogical records: 25% of Americans ages 16 and older used their library in the past year to do so. African-Americans are more likely than others to have done this: 29% used the library this way, compared with 23% of whites and 19% of Hispanics.

 

Zickuhr, Kathryn, et al. Libraries, Patrons, and e-Books
Part 4: How People used the Library in the Past Year. Pew Internet: Pew Research Center, 2012. Retrieved from: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/06/22/part-4-how-people-used-the-library-in-the-past-year/

 

Searchwise, this database was the hardest yet to use, in my opinion.  There was no thesaurus, the topics to browse at the top were very general and easy to get lost in, and no limiters on the search page.

 

Contentwise, this was the only mention of genealogy that I could find other than research done on online hobbyists from 2007.  Not very helpful to a researcher, so I don't think this database would have much relevant information for one of our genealogical patrons.

Image Searching

 

I Googled “genealogy” and chose one of the results on the first page.  There are many options for pictures regarding genealogy, including slides from powerpoints that provide helpful research data.  There are also lots of amusing comics about genealogy.

Lee, Vic. Pardon My Planet. 2008. King Features Syndicate. Retrieved from Google Image Search, https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&authuser=0&ei=kwA5VpOQMYax-wHMmL2YAQ&ved=0CBUQqi4oAQ

 

I searched in the Immigration collection of the Library of Congress American Memory project for the term “Genealogy” and found a great picture of a sod house in Loup County, Nebraska.  Many of the collections would be helpful for genealogists in this database, because they nearly all have a historical slant to them, and there are family trees of American presidents, pictures of letters, and other historical documents that would be of interest to a researcher.

I chose this image because a large number of pioneers lived in houses such as these, and it’s interesting to think that one of your ancestors might have lived in one.

 Nebraska State Historical Society, [Digital ID, e.g., nbhips 12036] . Retrieved from The Library of Congress American Memories Project,  http://memory.loc.gov/

Searchwise, I like Google images better.  It's easy to see a large number of images quickly, and to quickly search alternate keywords for better options.  Genealogy researchers enjoy looking at comics and old photographs, and I've had many patrons find pictures of their ancestors that they were unaware existed.

Contentwise, you have to be careful about Google image search.  It can devolve into inappropriate images amazingly quickly.  The Library of Congress's website has images which were selected and uploaded, so it's safe for anyone to search, and the accuracy and veracity of the images has been (hopefully) authenticated.  Anyone on Google can put anything they want on their pictures, even claim pictures of complete strangers as their ancestors, so you have to be extra careful in verifying any information you find on that search engine.

Social Search Engine

I used Socialmention.com to search for the term “genealogy” and got 104 hits.  Many of them were pictures of specific peoples’ ancestors or documents about them, but I did find a long story about a person’s ancestors that was linked on the website Reddit.  Not sure how helpful this would be to a genealogy researcher, except that you could see what updated information was available on a subject or see if anyone else was searching for your ancestor.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comments/3rdqkl/relatives_on_the_wildstein_list/?

 

 

 

Searchingwise, it's more like a Google search than a database search.  There aren't really any limiters, no thesaurus, and it just updates realtime mentions of the selected term.

 

Contentwise, the results would be hit-or-miss, mostly miss.  It's possible you could find a good mention, like the one listed above, but I believe this database would mostly be helpful for researchers of popular culture and trending news items, although Reddit does seem to have a fairly active genealogy group.