“Genealogy, Biography & Geography”
LIS 5603, Intro to Information Services
Dr. Lorri Mon, FSU SLIS – Florida’s iSchool

Genealogy – Out of Scope?
IPL Genealogy FARQ
http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/genealogyFARQ.html
“The IPL cannot do the time-consuming research
to answer many of the genealogy-related
questions that we get, but we can help you get
started on doing this research on your own…”
Recommends Cyndi’s List
http://www.cyndislist.com
And other genealogy-related web sites
http://www.newberry.org/genealogy-and-local-history

Genealogy Research
Family History
– for a short-term event (reunion, birthday,
assignment)
– as a long-term hobby (tracing “roots” back in time)
Medical History
– looking for a donor (bone marrow, organs)
– tracing a genetic malady (e.g. Huntington’s)

Alex Haley’s “Roots” –
A Genealogy Research Example
Research clues from
maternal grandmother:
– Oldest ancestor was “The
African” named Kin-tay
– called a guitar a ‘Ko’ and a
river ‘Kamby Bolongo’
– kidnapped while gathering
wood to build a drum Matches to Lord Ligonier –
– arrived in U.S. by ship at ‘Naples’ and ‘Annapolis’
Griot in Gambia – ‘Kings’ soldiers’
place called ‘Naples’
SOURCES: oral history, National Archives, linguists, griot, shipping lists

Military Service Records
Destroyed in fire: US Army before 1960, US Air Force before 1964
National Archives Veterans’ Records: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/
Marriage Certificates
State of Florida has June 1927 onwards (earlier in circuit court records)
Death Certificates (Vital Records)
State of Florida has limited death records btw 1877 & 1917; births 1930 on
CDC Vital Records: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm
Shipping Lists / Passenger Lists
Plus: Immigration, Insurance, Customs, Company Records, News Ads

LDS Family Search
https://www.familysearch.org/search/
Includes the Social Security Death Index

City Directories (Polk & others)
Polk Directories – 1870’s to 1950’s; not all cities or towns
DistantCousin City Directories: http://distantcousin.com/directories/

Heraldry and Family Symbols
• Crests, coats of arms, and mottoes
• Tartans of a clan (Scotland)
• Beware the commercialism …
The College of Arms in the U.K. handles all
achievements of arms.
http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/
Library Sources:
Burke’s (CS 27)
Debrett’s (CS 27)
(Public Library Dewey for Genealogy - 929.3 )

History of a House
Genealogy of a House
• Sanborn maps
• Building Permit
fiches
Fire
Insurance
Map
Detail
Wk 10 Genealogy: http://2011.ispace.ci.fsu.edu/~lmon/genealogy-fall2012.pdf
and audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3UVAuw3CFg

Biography Practice Questions
• I need biographical info on Walt Disney,
including his picture and signature.
• At what address would I write to Amy
Tan?
• Where can I find biographical information
on Zitkala-Sa?
• Is Harper Lee still alive?

Biographies
How much is fact, and how much is fiction?
Victorian era, 1800’s:
mixture of fact with fiction (“life lessons”)
culture of speaking positively about people
20th Century, 1920’s:
new critical, debunking approach
culture of “muckraking journalism”
Katz, Bill (1998), From Cuneiform to Computer: A History of Reference Sources.

Biographical Dictionaries
1700s and 1800s: concise, factual, events
•
DEAD Dictionary of National Biography (1882) – British
• Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1888)
Includes facsimile signature and portrait
• National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1892)
• Dictionary of American Biography (1928) - Cites
DEAD
additional books & articles
Katz, Bill (1998), From Cuneiform to Computer: A History of Reference Sources.

Dictionary of American Biography (1928)
Must already be dead to be included
Cites
additional
books &
articles
Continues –
long article

Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American
Biography (1888)
Could include people still living
Includes facsimile signature and portrait

20th Century Biography Resources
• subject oriented (esp. Contemporary
Authors ALIVE
authors)
• more universal (after 1970’s) Who’s Who
ALIVE
in America
• important people (nations Biography
ALIVE
etc.) Index
ALIVE Biography
& Genealogy Current
• Indexing sources Master Index Biography
ALIVE
Katz, Bill (1998), From Cuneiform to Computer: A History of Reference Sources.

Biography & Genealogy Master Index
https://login.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login?url=http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BGMI?locID=tall85761

Current Biography (1963)
Lengthy articles with pictures, some citations to additional reading

In Gale’s Literary Resource Center:
Contemporary Authors
Personal info including contact address, writings, literary criticism & articles
https://login.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login?url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/tall85761?db=LitRC

Who’s Who (Marquis)
• Who’s Who [British]
• Who’s Who in America
• Who’s Who in American Politics
• Who’s Who Among Black Americans
• Africa Who’s Who
• Who’s Who of the Asian Pacific Rim
• Who Was Who
• [etc.]
“Who’s Who” is the original British source from Marquis

Who’s Who – Subjects & Groups
Who’s Who in American Politics Who’s Who Among Black Americans

Who Was Who (historical/retrospective)

Considerations for Searching
Is the person that you’re searching for -
Dead or Alive?
Who’s Alive & Who’s Dead http://www.whosaliveandwhosdead.com/
The Dead People’s Server http://www.dpsinfo.com/dps/
Obituaries in newspapers
Famous or Unknown?
Obituaries in magazines e.g. Current Biography & yearbooks
Genealogy resources
Associated with Some(thing/one)
Famous? Titanica, other such sources on the famous event/person
Encyclopedia
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/

Geography, Atlases & Maps

Mapping Projections
XKCD on Mapping Projections: http://xkcd.com/977/

Origins
“Most early European maps are lost.”
– Chinese maps survive from 1137 A.D.
– Arab maps survive from 1154 A.D.
Early key figures in geography –
– Strabo (d. 20 AD)
– Ptolemy (d. 168 AD) world map in 1482
– al-Idrisi (d. 1166 AD)
Katz, Bill (1998), From Cuneiform to Computer: A History of Reference Sources.

Geography Practice Questions
• What’s the longitude & latitude for St. Croix?
• How far is it from Ontario to San Antonio?
• How do you pronounce “Versailles, Indiana?”
• What’s the elevation of London?
• Where can I find info about the city “Rekem”?
• Where is the geographic center of the U.S.?
• Where is Hell?
• Where is the smallest country in the world?
• What’s the most common U.S. town name?

Sources for Geography
Two major types of sources – visual and textual
– Maps (graphical representations of place) and
Atlases (collections of maps)
– Gazetteers (dictionaries for places)
Also the usual domain sources (the academic literature, indexes, etc.)
Maps and Representation Types
Thematic maps (statistical, subject) Point of
View
Physical feature maps (roads, mountains)
Presentation
Style
Photographic maps (aerial, satellite etc.)

Navajo Atlas
Shown here: locations of Navajo chapter houses

Thematic Maps – Statistics (1840s)
National Geographic Geography Education, Dr. John Snow’s Cholera Map

Atlas of the World’s Disappearing Languages
Shown here: Western Canada

Oxford Economic Atlas of the World
Entry for production of newsprint in 1950

Times Atlas of World History
Shown here: Slave population density

Weather Atlas of the United States
Shown here: Mean monthly number of days with precipitation

Civil War Newspaper Maps
Shown here: NY Tribune & NY Herald, Coverage of Battle of Antietam

Shepherd’s Historical Atlas
Shown here: layout of the Roman Forum

Atlas of Cyberspaces
Shown here: The NSFNet in 1992
http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/atlas.html

An Atlas of Fantasy
Shown here: C.S. Lewis’ sketch of the map of Narnia

Important Atlases - General
• Times Atlas of the World - $250.00
“finest”/“best”; not “Eurocentric”; very
detailed; thematic features;
index/gazetteer
• Hammond Atlas - $70.00
greater focus on North America, easy to
use; first computer-generated world atlas.
From: Katz, Intro to Reference Work / Bopp & Smith, Reference & Info Services

Important Atlases - Thematic
• Rand McNally Commercial Atlas &
Marketing Guide - $300.00+
updated yearly; maps plus demographic and
economic statistics data, zip codes, post
offices, banks. U.S. & Canada.
• Times Atlas of World History - $65.00
updated every 5 years; not “Eurocentric”;
historical and cultural information on different
civilizations; glossary.
From: Katz, Intro to Reference Work / Bopp & Smith, Reference & Info Services

Gazetteers
• Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the
World –
Older (1961) but “standard” – 130,000
entries, comprehensive
• Webster’s New Geographical Dictionary –
fewer than 50,000 entries, but “typical” /
another “standard” library gazetteer
From: Katz, Intro to Reference Work / Bopp & Smith, Reference & Info Services

Geographic Information
• Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps
• US Geological Survey Library
http://library.usgs.gov/index.html
• David Rumsey Maps
http://www.davidrumsey.com/
• Geonames & GNIS Server
(US) http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic
(World) http://geonames.nga.mil/ggmagaz/
• ESIC Centers and Libraries
http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/forms/esicstat.html
http://ask.usgs.gov/sils_index.html

Next Dates
• Mon, Oct 29: IPL2 Question #2 (second “real
user” question
• Tue, Nov. 13: IPL Question #3 & IPL reflective
paper with copies of all questions (email to
instructor)
• Mon. Nov 20: Reference interviews and paper
(email to instructor)
• Mon. Dec. 10: Research Guide (email to
instructor)

IPL2 Question-Answering Assignment
Reflective Paper - Tue, Nov 13, midnight EST.
• Write up your reflections on your IPL2 digital
reference experience, discussing your experience
and what you have learned.
• 4 pages doublespaced, Times New Roman 12 pt
font
• Include specific examples in your paper to
support/illustrate your ideas
• Turn in your three real-patron answered question
transcripts (and if relevant to your narrative, your
practice question transcript) with your paper by
midnight on Tue, Nov 13

Reference interviews and paper -
due Tues. Nov 20 midnight EST
Turn in 3 things via email to instructor:
• Face-to-face interview write up (you figuring out the info
need as reference interviewer/professional)
• Transcript of your chat/IM (you asking a librarian a
question as the user/patron)
• Reflective essay (at least 1,000 words) combining your
thoughts on these experiences; include specific details
from your experiences. In each case, what did you learn
about negotiating an information need? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of a face-to-face
interview vs. a chat/IM? Which seemed easier? Why?
What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are
as a reference interviewer? What would you do
differently next time?

Research Guide,
Due Mon. Dec. 10 midnight EST
• Handouts or Web-based research guides
briefly explain the topic area, and then provide a
wide range of helpful instructions for research
strategies/resources such as: databases,
indexes, encyclopedias, dictionaries,
almanacs, directories, books, journals,
newspapers, and archives; good search
strategies, subject searches and keyword
searches for the topic in catalogs and on the
Web; relevant organizations, associations,
Web pages, and library call number
• Be sure to see the Syllabus for full list of resources!

Participation :
Live Class & Discussion Board
Due Mon. Dec. 10 midnight EST
Each week, a discussion board will be available
for discussing a variety of topics and issues
relevant to the class. Participate by posting to
the discussion boards at least once per week on
at least 10 of the 15 weeks of the semester. if
you are an active participant in the live class,
you receive extra credit in boosting your overall
quality participation points.