CHANGES

Usually, the first Wednesday of the month's blog is dedicated to an instructional topic. This month's topic was slated to be IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION.

But... we've been a little busy and time got away from us.  What have we been up to?

Glad you asked!

If you have not been to the Medina Library in the last two weeks be prepared for some MAJOR changes!

In preparation for the renovation on the second floor, the Reference Staff (including me, Lisa and Lauren) have been moving a few things around.

The eastern half of the second floor of the Medina Library is undergoing a major renovation to make room
for the Family History Center made possible by a gift from Virginia Wheeler Martin.
Read more about that HERE.

During the renovation the materials that used to be in the Franklin Sylvester Room have been moved to the 1907 Room. Because of the delicate nature of some of these materials, Library Staff boxed up, loaded up and moved the materials. THANKS, Collection Development Staff and Lauren!

Local history and genealogy materials used to be in the
Franklin Sylvester Room.

Materials were packed up and moved by Library Staff to assure proper delicate handling.

The 1907 Room, which had been used for meetings and Teen Programming had to be cleared out to make room for
the Local History and Genealogy materials and equipment.
Thank you to our Teen Staff, Sean Rapacki, Rachel Rundle and Kathy Staufer!

The Local History and Genealogy Materials have been moved to the 1907 Room
at the back of the Teen Room

Lauren and the Collection Development staff did a grand job of fitting everything into the 1907 Room.
Our Technology Department got the microfilm machines and computers set up in no time!

 But it is not just the local history materials that are getting moved around. Our staff workroom has been moved up to the third floor, which meant packing up all of work files and materials. A lot went into storage and we each have one small file box for the duration of the renovation.

The Reference Desk had to be moved also.

The temporary Reference Desk has been moved to where the New Non Fiction is shelved near the top of the stairs.

The whole eastern half of the 2nd floor has been blocked off so that the Library can stay open during the construction. 

Since the eastern half of the floor isn't available, many MANY things had to be moved!

The non fiction materials have been squeezed into the area that used to have study desks and seating for reading
newspapers and magazines. 

SOME  of the computers have been moved into fiction area in front of the fireplace.

Thanks to a donation, lap tops have been set up for the teens to play their favorite online games.

 Then, this past weekend we had our biannual Genealogy Slam!  Kelli Bergheimer talked for 4 hours on DNA testing and how to get the most out of it for your genealogical research.

Kelli is a nationally known speaker on the Genealogy Conference circuit. 

Kelli answered questions throughout the talk.

SIXTY people attended the program.

As always, there were dozens of tasks to be completed in preparation. It was well worth it.

92% of the survey respondents gave Kelli an EXCELLENT rating!

For the last 20+ years, the Medina County District Library has hosted an online index to
 local obituaries and death notices. For now, obituaries can still be requested here. But new obituaries,
since the end of February, are not being added at this time.

And as part of updating our services in preparation for the new Family History Center, we are migrating our obituary index to the RBHayes, Ohio Obituary Index. This will give the collection wider exposure and boost use.  Lauren and I have been busy working with the Techy people to handle formatting and data entry issues that have cropped up. And keep cropping up.  But when finished, the database will be a tighter, better product.

The Ohio Obituary Index hosted at the RB Hayes Presidential Library in Fremont, Ohio.
Many Ohio Libraries host their obituary indexes here. And soon, MCDL will, too!

So, in the last two weeks, we have:

• Moved local history materials from Franklin Sylvester Room to 1907 Room. 
• Closed out our staff room and Reference Desk & moved to other side of the building.
• Hosted a very successful Genealogy Slam. 
• Migrated obituary data to a new host at RB Hayes.org

Oh! Did I mention that this weekend is the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference? Lisa, Lauren and I often attend this conference to learn new techniques and sources. And this conference? This weekend?  Lauren will be attending AND presenting a program on Alsace-Lorrain Research?

Busy? You betcha!

Family History Microfilm Program Being Discontinued

The popular microfilm lending program from the Family History Center is being discontinued as of September 1st, 2017. You can still order microfilm until August 31st.

Why is it being discontinued?

• Because they say microfilm technology is obsolete. Despite numerous studies that say microfilm, when handled appropriately and stored correctly, can last as long as 500 years. Digital technology lasts only as long as it doesn't become obsolete.  Technology changes quickly. Do any of you remember the old paper punch cards? How many of you still have 5 inch floppy disks in your home? Or 3 1/4 inch disks? CDs or DVDs? Or is it all on a USB drive or in the Cloud?

• Because the company has made tremendous progress in digitizing the microfilm. And they should have the rest of their microfilm digitized by the end of 2020.

But what if the film you want has not yet been digitized? Or if it is only available to view from within a Family History Center? (Which Lisa and I have noticed happening more and more frequently.)

I suggest ordering now any films you have been holding off requesting. Or wait until 2020...

To read their full announcement follow this link:
Family History Microfilm Lending Discontinued

MORE New Books!!

The Medina Library is very fortunate that a number of local organizations donate items for our Franklin Sylvester Room (F/S) collection.

The Medina County Historical Society and the Medina County Genealogical Society donate frequently. The Historical Society will send us any duplicates they have, but don't need. The Genealogical Society will try to get us materials that the Library is not able to get through its normal channels.

Medina County Genealogical Society

Medina County Historical Society

And lately, we have been the benefactors of several other Medina County organizations:

The Family History Center on Windfall Road is downsizing their small library. They have offered the library any of the books we would like to add to our collection. Here is a sampling of their gifts:

Family History Center at Medina
Church of Later-Day Saints

Just some of the books donated by
the Medina Family History Center

Lisa Rienerth, co-worker and a fellow genealogist, recently did a tour of the F/S collection for the Seville Historical Society. Their members noted that the library did not have a copy of their latest publication and they promptly promised us a copy. And here it is!

Connecting the Past to the Present 1816-2016 updates the current histories we have on Seville and Guilford Township.

The Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Western Reserve Colony noticed that our books on the Mayflower Descendants needed updating and donated copies of those along with some other books on the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.

If any of these books are interesting to you, take a look at them the next time you are in the Franklin Sylvester Room.

UPDATES TO PREVIOUS BLOGS:

1. Following up on my applications to lineage societies, I have just submitted my application for First Families of Ohio. If successful, it will prove that my 3X great grandparents, John WILLIAMS and Lucinda Sartain TILLMAN WILLIAMS were in Ohio prior to 1820. I am using a land record to show that William P. WILLIAMS is the son of John & Lucinda WILLIAMS.

2. This is the last week for the online Genealogy Basics course I have been taking through the Library's subscription to Gale Courses. A fuller report will be next week, but overall, it is an okay basic course. It is a bit dated and needs to be updated.  In this fast changing world it is important to keep your material current. Lisa and I update our class materials every time we teach a class.