Overall this book is designed for someone who has recently inherited an unorganised collection of ‘stuff’ that includes boxes of documents and/or entire houselots of stuff. If you’re in that situation and a bit bewildered as to where to start, this is the perfect book for you.
If you’re like me, and you’ve inherited a few small heirlooms or photos at a time from one grandparent or the other and maybe accumulated your own lifetime’s worth of stuff, this book is less relevant. There were still sections in it that I found useful though.
However, none of the links I clicked on worked. I clicked half a dozen, mostly for the worksheets that the author referred to and expected the reader to complete, and a couple for external sites. I understand that the author can’t be blamed if an external site goes offline or changes their address, but it was very frustrating not to be able to access the worksheets, especially when the author generally didn’t describe the contents of the worksheets. The reader is told to ‘complete checkpoint such-and-such by doing the worksheet’ but without the link working, there’s no way for the reader to know what they were supposed to do. For instance, inventory your collection without cataloguing it. What does that even mean?
There’s a lot of information on how to care for different types of documents and items, everything from photographs and slides to books and garden tools. There was a LOT of repetition. Personally, I learned to remove the staples, paperclips, etc. from paper documents, to store letters flat instead of folded in envelopes (but still with the envelope) and to take a copy of newspaper articles and store the newspaper clippings far from all other documents. I don’t have much that isn’t from my own lifetime, but I know my mother-in-law has some of her grandfather’s letters and documents.
The paper/digital filing system discussion was somewhat interesting. The recommended digital organisation system is not significantly different to what I was already doing, although I don’t have a ‘database’ of my digital documents. I’ve maintained some level of digital filing system since I started doing genealogy, so I’m pretty au fait with that side of things. I’ve been more concerned with the non-digital stuff. I can see that some would need the guidance on this aspect though.
I thought the sections on genealogy research were really beyond the scope of this book, and as it’s such an extensive topic, it didn’t seem particularly useful to skim over it in a book about archiving family keepsakes, especially when the author had already covered what to do if you inherited someone else’s genealogy research. What with the sections on what spreadsheets programs to use and what tasks to use spreadsheets for, how to do citations, when to use a database and which one, what to consider when choosing your genealogy software, how to subscribe to genealogy blogs, etc., this felt more like this book should have been called ‘Everything you need to know when you’re suddenly appointed as the Family Historian’.
As I say, if you suddenly find yourself with boxes or houselots of things to sort through and/or you suddenly find yourself the Family Historian with no previous experience or knowledge, this book is perfect. For someone who has a slowly growing collection of heirlooms that she just wants to catalogue, it was only somewhat helpful.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club?
Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Flip to back
Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
-
Apple
-
Android
-
Windows Phone
-
Android
To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Maureen A. TaylorPaperback$25.49FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Aug 16Only 15 left in stock (more on the way).
Videos
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2012
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2012
Verified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Lizzie P.
Good Ideas
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2017Verified Purchase
Chris Smith
Disappointing book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2018Verified Purchase
Neate and Tidy
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2015Verified Purchase
Sue T.
Archiving Family Keepsakes
Reviewed in Canada on March 26, 2014Verified Purchase
jane
How to archive family keepsakes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2012Verified Purchase
