NSW public library wiki

Module 9 Family history ref-ex

Discuss the questions and your answers with your supervisor, trainer or colleagues.

Exercises Family history first contact

• Spend time learning how to use all the equipment in your family history section.
• Search for information from the day you were born.
• Are the user instructions clear and easy to follow?

Exercises for records and referral

1. What family history resources are in your library or available online?
2. How are your resources indexed or catalogued?
3. How are your resources arranged?
4. Choose two of the listed websites and search for your family name or your local town.
5. Is there a Family History Society nearby?
6. What are their hours and conditions of access?
7. What resources do they hold?

Talk with your supervisor about your findings. Discuss with them which are the most used resources and why that might be.

Exercises for family history and local studies research

1. Does your library house the local studies collection separately from the family history collection?
2. Why or why not?
3. How would you use the family history collection to find out about local people or places?

Discuss your findings with your supervisor.

Exercise for review

In order to better understand the process of researching family history, research your own family back for at least two generations.

Discuss your findings with your supervisor.

What to do when you finish the module…

When you have completed the exercises for this module, you may want to talk to your colleagues or supervisor about them.

Please fill out and submit the evaluation form

Reference Excellence - self paced reference and information services training

About ref-ex

Module 1 Overview of the reference process ref-ex

Module 2 Reference interview skills and question types ref-ex

Module 3 People skills, reference behaviours ref-ex

Module 4 Search strategies ref-ex

Module 5 Reference resources ref-ex

Module 6 Ethics and legislation ref-ex

Module 7 Roving reference ref-ex

Module 8 Local studies ref-ex

Module 9 Family history ref-ex

Module 10 Children ref-ex

Module 11 Young adults ref-ex

Module 12 Corporate library services ref-ex

Module 13 Technology reference services ref-ex