[Note: This blog post has been updated since it was originally written.]

I love using the Internet to find information and collaborate with other researchers, and people in general. And I love using tech tools to help me be more efficient. I really love those tech tools that work behind the scenes, so to speak, that look for information while I'm doing other "stuff" 'cause who doesn't like to be more efficient?

However, while it's helpful to have tech tools, like Ancestry.com's Hints [or their shaking leaves], MyHeritage's family tree hints, or even Mocavo's family tree hints. Those "hints" or just one tech tool in my Tech Tool Box. And, really, I only use them sparingly for my own personal research. They have their pros and cons. And the main con, in my opinion, is that they tend to lead new researchers astray by subconsciously suggesting that's the only way to research. And? It's not really researching. It's searching. And it's passive. And it's an algorithm that's doing the passive searching. [Which is a very fancy math formula that is powered by computer programs. And I've never really liked math all that much, so there's that.] And it's only looking in its own limited database of information - not anywhere or everywhere online and offline that the answer I am seeking may exist.

So, it's not really thorough or very complete, which is why it's a tool. A tool that's being controlled by an algorithm which are both guided by you and the family tree and the information you've provided to it, which may or may not be correct. To me, that spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. But only if you haven't relegated this particular tool to your Tech Tool Box to be used when appropriate.

Also, I do check all my free and subscription-based databases online for documents and information that have been digitized. This is a part of my search Tech Tool Box. Either digitized images of documents or indexes of records are being thrown up on the Internet each and every day by many, many organizations and services. And that's the reason I highlight them in my daily blog posts, Genealogy Things You Need to Know This Morning.  

But what do you do when you have done all that you can with your online resources? You use your online tech tools to find it offline, if anything exists. Following are 10 general Internet tips on how to locate online where information you need for your family tree research might exist offline. Basically, it's using the Internet as an online Tech Tool to find resources and information offline. 

1. Consult your Pedigree Chart and determine holes in your research. Do you have unsubstantiated information as birth, marriage, and/or death events? Do you have some information that is substantiated, but you could use some more evidence or maybe even better evidence? [Because while you love your Great Aunt Bernice and all those stories she tells, sometimes those stories sound a little too good to be true.] Or do you have holes where a birth, marriage, and/or death event should be? Start with the person where one of these above questions is answered with a "yes".
   
2. Now that you have a person and event information that you are looking for, look at this person's other events. Where did they take place? Have no events and, thus, no locations for this person? Then look at the people around this person in your family tree. In what location were these people doing 'stuff', and where might their paths have crossed? Start with that location.
   
3. Is the location you have just the state or does it include a city or town? Determine the county. Keep in mind county boundaries may have changed. To determine the county, I usually Google the city/town and state. Then taking that county, I use The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists edited by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius to determine record  and county information. I also look at their notes on state record availability. [Note: My edition of this reference book was published in 2004, and website URLs may have changed since then, but the information they provide is absolutely invaluable to me. So it's not really about the links they provide -- I could Google those -- it's about the records information.] You can also use the Red Book which Ancestry.com makes available on their Wiki. Another great resource for this type of information is FamilySearch.org's Wiki. [It's just sometimes I prefer to thumb through a book, you know?]
   
4. If you don't already know, determine what libraries with genealogical departments, genealogy libraries, or state archives are closest to you as well as the location you are looking in.  Those hard-to-get-to facilities might do look-ups or you can check the Family History Library's online catalog and perhaps rent some microfilm from them.
   
5. Starting with the closest facility near you, check their online catalog of both books and microprint {includes microfilm and microfiche}. Also note that some libraries with genealogy departments and/or genealogy libraries don't have their microprint as a part of their online catalog, but as a separate index database. Or you might have to get outta of those pajamas and pink bunny slippers to visit them in person to see what they have for microprint.
   
6. Notate whether or not a facility has either books or microprint available for the county and state that you are needing to do research in. Also, sometimes it might just be a book for a state and not a specific county that you'll find some information [or more likely clues] on [or about] your ancestor.
   
7. Make a list for each facility. Use Evernote, or OneNote, or a list-making app, or paper & pencil. Whatever works for you. It doesn't matter.
   
8. If a facility is too far away for you to visit, see if they participate in inter-library loan of books or microfilm. For example, in Texas, The Texas State Library and Archives participates in the inter-library loan program for their microfilmed county records. Thus, after checking out if closer facilities have what I'm looking for and they don't, then I check TSLA's website to see if they have it on microfilm for the county that I'm looking in. If they have what I need, then I go to my local library and order it to be delivered to my local library for me to view there. This is cheaper than the $7.50 rental fee per microfilm roll from the Family History Library. Whether I'm working for a client or myself, I'm always keeping an eye out on the budget.]
   
9. Then check the FHL's online catalog to see if they have any microfilm that can be rented for the location and/or event that is being searched. If they have what I'm looking for that I think might possibly yield some information, then I rent it online to be delivered to my local FHC. [Which for me happens to be my local library because they became an affiliate recently. YES!]
   
10. If I can't find what I need from these facilities, then I turn to the original producer or keeper of the original document like county district clerk's offices. I do this by first consulting my copy of Carmack's and Nevius' The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists [which has more dog ears than my local humane society] to determine how things are organized by state and then by county. It also has some awesome "State Resources" lists.
    

Remember:

• Not everything is online. It just isn't. You'll need to accept that.
  
• No technology tool can find your family tree for you all by itself, otherwise it wouldn't be called a tool. {It'd be called something like the "For $29.99 I Can Do All Your Research For You Robot". And wouldn't that be nice? But, really? For $29.99?}
  
• As a properly used tech tool, the Internet can help you to be more efficient with your time, your budget, and your online as well as offline research.
  

Happy Researching!
~Caroline
© Copyright 2013 4YourFamilyStory.com -- All Rights Reserved.

Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius, editors. The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists: The Essential Guide to American County and Town Sources. Cincinnati, Ohio: Family Tree Books, 2004.

Because y'all are such awesome readers, I'm not surprised that 2 of y'all ended up winning Denise Levenick's How to Archive Family Keepsakes Blog Book Tour Giveaways.  

{By the way, they were picked randomly but I think the Lucky Giveaway Fates realize just what an awesome bunch y'all really are. ;) }

So, without further ado here are the WINNERS:

Mary Nelson is the winner of the awesome-totally-making-me-jealous-cuz-you-won-it-and-I-don't-have-it Archival Family Photo Kit from The Practical Archivist, Sally Jacobs that includes:

• An attractive tan box (PAT passed) that can hold prints up to 5x7" upright
  
• 25 paper envelopes that can store multiple prints
  
• 25 paper sleeves that hold a single photograph each. 
  

{Storage for up to 1,000 photos 5x7" and smaller. Prints must be 4x6" or smaller to fit in envelopes, sleeves hold up to 5x7-inches.}


And the first runner up and winner of a copy of Denise's book How to Archive Family Keepsakes is also an awesome 4YourFamilyStory.com reader...Annemarie Taylor!!!!! 

The second awesome runner up is from Lynn Palermo's totally fabulous blog The Armchair Genealogist {Have y'all heard about her February Family History Writing Challenge?!?}...Tina Telesca!!!!!

Congrats to all the winners! And my 2 awesome-winning-readers, please contact me so I can get you in touch with Denise to find out how to claim your prize.

And to everyone else, don't forget Denise has a whole other week of blog book tour stops and some more giveaways. Good luck!

~Caroline

Here are the 7 gen-tech links for this week. It was a slow week for tech that I think might be useful for genealogy and family history researchers {and that's not necessarily labeled with the word 'genealogy'.} That's the way it goes. Some weeks there's a lot to pick from and some weeks there just isn't much in the news.

But? Look through these links and see if there might be a tech tool that might be useful to you and that you might have a place for in your Gen-Tech Toolbox. You never know. It might be just the thing you need. =) But, then, don't forget to take the time to learn it, use it, and incorporate into your online and offline research workflows. {Oh yeah. The important part. ;) }

1. First Taskable Update Brings Task Editing, Fantastical Support And More by Aldrin Calimlim on appadvice.com ~ It's the new year and with all new years come resolutions to be more organized. And with Aldrin's review of Taskable's, a task management app, new update, it sounds like it can really help you to get your tasks done. Find John Smith's baptismal record. Check. Find Jane Davis' 2nd marriage record from 1910 in Story County, Iowa. Check. Manage your ancestor research tasks in 2013 and check out what Aldrin has to say about Taskable and see of this tech tool could work for you. It also has a link to the full review of the app as well.
2. TripSuite: Trip Planning Made Bloody Comprehensive by Luke Patrick on theiphoneappreview.com ~ Genealogists and family history researchers travel. Whether it's to attend a conference or to take a picture of an ancestor's tombstone 3 counties away from where they live. It's a fact of the hobby and the profession. Luke does a great job of outlining how the TripSuite app can help you be totally organized and doing stuff in the area where you find yourself in. I know that if I take my non-genealogy-loving family members along with me on genealogy excursions, I have to, um, sweeten the deal for them by offering something fun to do, and this app looks like it could really help me out with that. {Or I could leave said family members at home. LOL. ;) }
3. Nexus 7 vs. iPad Mini: A Comparative Review by Jackson Chung on makeuseof.com ~ For those of you who received some cash or gift cards over the holidays and still haven't decided on what tablet you'd like to buy, in this blog post Jackson gives a great comparison of the Nexus 7 and the iPad Mini.
4. Digital Natives And Doctors Rejoice, Google Handwrite Gets Faster And Smarter by Drew Olanoff on techcrunch.com ~ For those of us with letters and handwritten documents to transcribe, this article is great news. No, the tech isn't quite there yet to help us out with our transcribing, but? It gives us great hope, no? So, not really a tool for you now, but maybe one day. A girl can dream. ;)
5. Bump adds support for sharing files via Dropbox by Mike Schramm on tuaw.com ~ I can think of a few good uses for this tool. A vendor at a conference who wants to give you more information about their product or service? Bump that Dropbox file to 'em. Meeting a cousin or relative at the library for some research collaboration and you have a new document to share with them? Bump that Dropbox file to 'em.
6. My Top 10 Favorite iPad Apps and How I Use Them by Michael Hyatt on michaelhyatt.com ~ No, these aren't mine. They're from Michael Hyatt. The former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers is SO dialed in to tech tools {and writing, publishing, etc.} that it'd behoove you - if you have an iPad or you're thinking about purchasing one - to check out his iPad app recommendations. I did.
7. Create a To Do List You're More Likely To Finish by Samantha Smith on Forbes.com ~ I know. Another to-do list app, but? You made all those resolutions to be organized and get stuff done, and if you don't accomplish your to-do goals, it won't be because I didn't help you with some to-do tech suggestions. =) So check out what Samantha has to say about this very unique to-do app that launched just this week. Turn those to-dos into Ta-das! ;)

~Caroline

The other day online someone mentioned that they still hadn't learned how to use Evernote for genealogy. And this is something I've heard many times in many different ways.

"You need to do a video on how to use Evernote for genealogy."

Or, "Show me how to use Evernote for my research, Caroline."

I've almost created a video on it, but I created 2 how-to videos for my note-taking tech tool of choice, OneNote, and I thought that was enough really.

I've suggested other note-taking apps to use as well. Other folks have done blog posts on how they use Evernote and some specifically on how to use it for genealogy, or at least how they use it for genealogy research.

And then there was a discussion last night on Facebook that touched upon this subject a bit, or at least, the negative effects of too much tech and not enough genealogy research basics.

And I'm going to predict this year you'll finally see how-to-use-Evernote webinars and presentations/workshops at conferences.

But?

I don't think most folks need it. I predict you'll be at the end of a webinar or at the end of one of those  conference presentations and walk away from your computer or leave the presentation hall not really knowing how to use it for your research. {And really? A presentation for a how-to-use-an-app for genealogy? It definitely shouldn't be anything less than a workshop showing you how to incorporate it into your research workflow when doing it live, IMO. Don't settle for less.}

You see, Evernote and apps just like it are just tools. In fact Evernote and OneNote are digital tools to help you take and archive notes. If you know how to take notes and use a file cabinet or a binder with dividers for organizing your genealogy research, you can figure out how to use Evernote and OneNote. {Unless, you're lacking computer or organizational skills. That's different.}

I don't think learning how to use the tech tool is the problem. One way I can tell this is by the number of my Research Plan downloads {for several types of platforms and not just OneNote} there have been. Folks are really asking for something else when they ask me to show them how to use a tech tool for genealogy. They're asking how to perform research. And I'm not talking about searching Ancestry.com for the umpteenth time or chasing down a shaking leaf. {While that can be rewarding at times, it becomes tedious and non-productive if that's all you ever do.}

I'm talking about narrowing down your research question and completing a research plan in order to answer that pointed research question in some form or fashion, and then doing it all over again with a new or revised research question.

And we can blame this on the advent of do-it-yourself sites like Ancestry.com, but that would be pointless. Besides, as with all things, with the bad comes the good, and IMO, Ancestry.com's good far, far {FAR} outweighs its bad. And, hello? It's a tool.

Or, if you'd like, you could blame it on me. I talk tech all the time. I push links to new tech out to y'all through my social media networks.

But if you'll notice on my 7 Gen-Tech Links Posts, I give you a link with an explanation of how it might be used while researching. In my Tech for Genealogy Google Plus Community, I try to begin and encourage discussions on how to use the tech. {And I definitely discourage Link Spamming there, which is leaving a link without any type of description of what the link is about, ideas on how it could be used for research, or a question about the tech the link is leading to. It's a community not a message board.}

I've even advocated recently in a local presentation that a person really should just learn one piece of technology a month while keeping up with their research. {Cray-cray, right?}

And I cannot believe I'm going to say this, but? You don't need another app or gadget to get your research done. You don't need another tech tool to get it done.

You need to focus on your research and your methods. Sure, use the tech or gadgets to help you.

But what you really need is your brain. And for genealogy, your pedigree chart. Sure, your pedigree chart may not look like your grandmother's {or maybe it does}. It may be gussied up and all nice and colorful looking back at you from your iPad.

But? It's a pedigree chart. And you're here in this online genealogy world to research. Stop getting distracted, and use that brain of yours to find your kinfolk. There is absolutely no tech tool out there that can do your research for you. It can either help you or distract you, but it can't do it for you.

{But? Don't fret. The 7 Gen-Tech Links Post will be back for the new year starting tomorrow. Just, you know, really look at them and see if they can help you find your kinfolk. If so, incorporate it into your workflow. If not, move on.}

Because the only one who should be driving your research is you.

'Cause, Silly, tools can't drive. They need you for that.

~Caroline

Help me welcome Denise Levenick to 4YourFamilyStory.com. Today she's sharing an excerpt from her book, How to Archive Family Keepsakes. And? She's talking about scanners. So take a look at her recommendations and suggestions. Also? Don't forget to comment on this blog post for a chance to win an Archival Kit!  ~Caroline

Book Excerpt from How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise May Levenick

At 4YourFamilyStories, Caroline Pointer is always on the cutting-edge of new technology that will move our genealogy forward and make our family history work easier and more productive. After reading Caroline’s review of How to Archive Family Keepsakes I hope that you are energized and enthusiastic about your own family archive project.

This Guest Post for the How to Archive Family Keepsakes Blog Book Tour features an excerpt from Part 2: Break the Paper Habit, Organize and Digitize Your Paper Documents. 

Genealogists have so many choices when it comes to technology for digitizing our family history documents that purchase decisions can be difficult to make. I am happy to answer your questions about specific models and features for the equipment mentioned here, and I know that Caroline will be joining in to share her expertise as well.  And when you leave a comment to this post you will also be entered to win one of the Family History Archive Kits offered as a Blog Book Tour Giveaway!

Scanner Options for Genealogists and Family Historians
As you go paperless, you’ll need tools to help convert your paper files to digital. A home office scanner is a workhorse in the paperless office. For mobile scanning, you may already own two of the most useful digitization tools: your mobile phone and your digital camera. Here are several choices to help you digitize your documents:

Office All-in-One Scanner
Paper isn’t the only thing that can pile up in a home office. You may be consolidating office equipment too with an all-in-one printer-fax-copier-scanning machine. These devices typically offer a flat-bed scanning surface, and may include a sheet-fed attachment as well. Look for software with variable file formats and scanning resolutions. Third-party software can add additional features, if desired.

Flat-bed Photo Scanner
Use a flat-bed scanner to digitize fragile documents and photographs from your family archive to make digital master copies. When purchasing a new scanner, look for one that is designed to scan both documents and photos, and comes with it’s own software. Software that offers batch-scanning features can make your project go faster.

If you plan to digitize negatives and slides, you will need a negative or slide carrier attachment to hold the transparencies above the glass bed of the scanner. 

Portable Flat-bed Scanner
These machines are about the size of a netbook computer and weigh less than a pound. Power comes from standard AA batteries; files are saved to a SD Media Card.

These pint-size workhorses like the offer many of the features of a full-size flat-bed scanner, but be prepared for a few trade-offs. Models I tested offer JPG scanning only and a glass scanning surface of 5 x 7-inches. You can work around these limitations by converting JPG images to TIFF to create Digital Master Copies (or by saving a JPG as your Digital Master Copy). The unique see-through feature can also scan oversize items. Built-in software stitches multiple scans together to form one complete image from several individual files.

While the small screen size can be inconvenient, it easily accommodates the popular 4” x 6” snapshots in many home collections. Portability and ease of use make little scanners a great option if you travel often or need to a family member’s digitize photos. Remember to take extra batteries and memory cards with you.

Portable Wand Scanner
If you are looking for the smallest scanning solution, a wand scanner may suit your needs although most devices require a steady hand and some practice for optimal results. You will also be limited in file format, resolution, and scan image size.

This option is best for library researchers who need to copy bound materials for off-site study.

Portable Sheet-fed Scanner
Mobile researchers may also be interested in a small sheet-fed scanner that offers portability, speed, and ease of use. This kind of scanner feeds paper through the machine over the scanning head and is best for office and research documents, not for heirloom originals.

Mobile Phone or Tablet Camera
This portable pocket “scanner” is especially useful for digitizing notes, receipts, and other business or personal information. In a pinch, use your smart phone camera to snap gravestone photos or take the place of a library copier.

Some mobile phones and most tablet devices cam expand their capabilities with inexpensive specialized apps. From scanning to photo-enhancement, these programs can help you maximize the usefulness of your mobile devices for genealogy.

Digital Camera
A digital camera is the family historian’s go-to tool. It can snap photos at the family reunion, capture a full image of Aunt May’s scrapbook, and record your museum travel expenses so they aren’t lost before you are reimbursed by the client.

Add a tripod or copy stand to your equipment and you have a portable scanner. Travel with extra batteries and memory cards so that you minimize down-time. 

Computer Webcam
You might not think of your computer camera for digitizing, but it does a fairly good job for quick scans of office documents, especially small receipts, business cards, and notes. These files can be added to your working digital documents files to replace the bits and pieces of notepaper that create clutter.

Not all digital projects require the same quality images or merit the time and effort required for full 600dpi TIFF format files. Choose the digitizing method that best suits your purpose as you work towards minimizing paper clutter and becoming a more effective family historian.

Excerpt from How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records by Denise May Levenick (Family Tree Books, 2012). ISBN 1440322236

Paperback from Family Tree Books, Amazon.com; PDF eBook from Scribd
10% Savings Coupon ShopFamilyTree.

©Copyright, 2012, Denise May Levenick. All Rights Reserved. www.thefamilycurator.com.

Join the Blog Tour
Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January 10-26, 2013 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule <http://www.thefamilycurator.com/book-tour/>. 

Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.

Blog Book Tour Giveaways
Comment on daily Book Blog Tour Post
Tweet the Tour Twitter @FamilyCurator #keepsakebooktour
Share the Tour on FaceBook, Google+, Goodreads

What would a book tour be without prizes? It's easy to enter the contest, and you could win a free copy of my book or a great Family History Archival Kit. One name will be drawn on Saturday, 19 January 2013 and a second name selected on Saturday, 26 January 2013 to win the archival kits. Runners up can win free print or digital PDF copies of my book.

To enter, leave a comment to the Blog Tour Post hosted at one of the official tour blogs. Each blog tour post comment gives you one chance to win; one entry per post per day, please. Leave a comment at each stop on the blog tour and increase your chances of winning. The lucky names will be announced each Saturday during the tour at The Family Curator. Random winners for free books will also be selected from social media comments on Twitter, FaceBook, and Google+.

About the Author
In every family, someone ends up with “the stuff.” Denise May Levenick is a writer, researcher, and speaker with a passion for preserving and sharing family treasures of all kinds. She is the creator of the award-winning family history blog, The Family Curator www.TheFamilyCurator.com and author of the new book How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records, (Family Tree Books, 2012).

In the scanner shopping mood? 
Check out my Flip-Pal page for the current specials and check out my Amazon Shop with my scanner recommendations. Please note: I am an affiliate for Flip-Pal and Amazon. When you click on any links and purchase something, I will receive a small referral commission. ~Caroline

"My goal here today is for you to leave here with at least one idea you can take home and use immediately to preserve your heirlooms or keepsakes."

Denise Levenick, my fellow columnist in the award-winning Shades of the Departed digital magazine, made this declaration {or, rather, one very similar to it as I failed to write it down verbatim} in the introduction of her presentation at the Southern California Genealogical Society's annual Jamboree conference last year.

And? I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, I'd spoken with Denise both in person and online numerous times, but I had never heard her speak in presentation mode. She rocked that room {Okay, tent because we were in the additional space outside the conference hall.} that day displaying her brilliant expertise in archival methods and practical suggestions for everyone. And I really mean everyone. You didn't have to be a genealogist or family historian to have learned something from her that day.

However, I am a genealogist and family historian, and I definitely left her presentation that day with a ton of great and practical ideas for preserving and sharing my family's keepsakes.

Likewise, after reading her book, How to Archive Family Keepsakes, I have to say she rocks it in her book as well. {Minus all the noise in said extra tents.} As with her presentation, while reading Denise's book, you can tell she is in her element sharing with you ways to physically and digitally preserve documents, photos, and heirlooms.

In fact, in reading her book you can tell it is her passion, which is always awesome. As a writer, I know what it's like to write about something you're not specifically passionate for, yet you write it because it needs to be done. And I know what it's like to write something that I am passionate about. Those writings are always so much better to write and to read because passion is invigorating, motivating, and contagious for both the writer and the reader.

And after reading Denise's new book, I definitely have 'caught' the preservation bug. Truth be told, while I share her passion of ephemera, my passion tends to lean more towards the story-finding and story-telling of the object or document than the actual archiving. So, it's really a small miracle that Denise has infected me with her passion for archiving.

With her simple how-to's, checklists, and forms, when you purchase Denise's book {Not if. I'm that confident you will purchase this book.}, you will not only be motivated to preserve your family's keepsakes, but you will have the tools to go through that box {Or if you're like me, boxes} of your family's 'stuff' you have tucked away in that closet in your guest bedroom that you keep telling yourself you need to go through and do 'something' with.

Moreover, what I really appreciate is how Denise writes her tips and suggestions in How to Archive Family Keepsakes. She gives you many options in her preservation suggestions, and she does so in a way that makes you feel like she's right next to you sharing her knowledge. And I can say this truthfully because we've sat together at conferences in the hotel lobbies talking and looking at old photos on her iPad. We've broken bread together at numerous breakfasts, lunches, and dinners at those same conferences. While waiting for our flights last year after Jamboree, we talked in a crowded airport terminal about ephemera. {The terminal was so crowded, I was sitting on the floor at the feet of both Denise, the Family Curator, and footnoteMaven talking about ephemera and looking at their finds from a local antique store. You are jealous. Heck, I'm even jealous of me. I wish I was there talking to them now about ephemera.} Therefore, I can truly say when you read her book, you will feel like she's right there showing you how to preserve your family's history.

Finally, when you get to the end of her book and you close the back cover or when you return to your digital library on your e-reader or tablet, you will, indeed, do so knowing way more about digitally and physically preserving your family's precious history than just 'one thing'. You'll be invigorated and motivated to get it done, and, more importantly, you'll have the tools to get it done.

And I'll even wager you'll have 'caught' some of her passion for it.

Like I did.

So what are you waiting for? Even if you aren't a genealogist or family historian, if you've inherited a box of your family's 'stuff', you should grab Denise's book today and learn how to preserve all those memories for many, many years to come.

Wait! There's more.

As part of her How To Archive Family Keepsakes Blog Book Tour, next Monday, Denise will be making a 'stop' right here on 4YourFamilyHistory.com to share an excerpt from her book. And? If you make a comment on my blog post with her excerpt, then you get a chance to win something awesome. {In fact, I'm pretty jealous of you. I'd like to win this.} Get this. Denise has teamed up with The Practical Archivist, Sally Jacobs, to offer two great archival kits and copies of How to Archive Your Family's Keepsakes to the lucky winners. One name will be drawn on Saturday, 19 January 2013 and a second name selected on Saturday, 26 January 2013 to win the archival kits. Runners up can win free print or digital PDF copies of her book.

My suggestion would be to buy a copy of her book and comment on the blog post for a chance to win an archival kit. Best case scenario? You own the book and an archival kit {and you make me jealous. ;) }. Another best case scenario? You own 2 copies of the book - one for you and one for you to give to someone else who has a box of 'stuff' they need help preserving. {Personally, I am buying 2 copies to donate to my local library's genealogy department as well as my genealogical society's library.} The other best case scenario? You own the book with the tools to help you preserve your family's history. It's a 'win' no matter what.

Also, I just wanted to add that a portion of the proceeds of this book's sales goes towards helping to fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman. I personally know last year's very worthy recipients of this award, Elyse Doerflinger and A.C. Ivory, and the genuinely surprised and thankful looks on their faces when they found out they'd won was priceless. {See, I told you it's a 'win' no matter what.}

• Buy your copy today of How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012) ISBN 1440322236: Paperback from Family Tree Books, Amazon.com; PDF eBook from Scribd
  10% Savings Coupon ShopFamilyTree.
• Read more about the How to Archive Family Keepsakes Blog Book Tour.
  
• Read more about the fantastically awesome Blog Book Tour Giveaways {with pics of the 1st archival kit}.
  
• Then come back here Monday for an excerpt from her book and be sure to comment on that blog post to win a chance at owning that first archival kit. =)
  

~Caroline

{Disclosure: I received a PDF copy of How to Archive Family Keepsakes from Denise to review. My review is my honest opinion of her book. While I am an affiliate of Amazon, the link to purchase her book is Denise's link and not mine.}

Organize your family history heirlooms and research in 2013 --
Family Curator Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise Levenick – On Tour from January 10-26th, 2013.

How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records will be featured in a new Blog Book Tour January 10-26, 2013. With top reviews from leading genealogy bloggers and 5-Star Ratings on Amazon.com, this new resource by Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, will help you organize and preserve your family history heirlooms and research in 2013.

Visit 14 popular genealogy blogs and websites featuring Denise and How to Archive Family Keepsakes for book excerpts, interviews, special guest posts, free downloads, and giveaways.  View the schedule at the Blog Book Tour Page <http://www.thefamilycurator.com/book-tour/>.

How to Archive Family Keepsakes offers practical guidance for family historians:

•     Helping a parent or loved one downsize to a smaller home

•     Needing a simple, effective filing system for genealogy research

•     Interested in scanning and making digital copies of genealogy records

•     Looking for a way to preserve your family history and heirlooms for future generations

Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.

About the Author

Denise Levenick lives in Southern California and inherited her love of family history along with a trunk filled with family treasures from her maternal grandmother. She is now the caretaker of several family collections and has adapted professional archival techniques to organize and preserve family keepsakes for a home situation. She is a frequent contributor to Family Tree Magazine and speaks to genealogy societies and service groups about preserving family treasures. Denise created The Family Curator blog in 2007 where she continues to write about her own family history research and preserving family keepsakes.

Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January 10-26 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule <http://www.thefamilycurator.com/book-tour/>.

How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012) ISBN 1440322236


Paperback from Family Tree Books, Amazon.com; PDF eBook from Scribd

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