==================================================================== LIVERMORE-AMADOR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY E-BULLETIN FOR JANUARY 1998 January 1, 1998 ********************* * * * Happy New Year! * * * ********************* ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you prefer not to receive these mailings from L-AGS or would like further information, please call or e-mail me at: See the note at the end for tips on improving the readability of this message. George Anderson ==================================================================== MEMBERSHIP NEWS Lori Codey, President-Elect and Outgoing Membership Chairperson Our membership now stands at 163, an all-time high. That is an increase of 32 new members in 1997, also a record. Welcome to all new members! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIBRARY NEWS Judy Person, Library Chairperson A major addition to the Pleasanton Genealogy Library, of which the L-AGS library is a part, will be unveiled in February, if the present schedule holds. At that time, the new CD-ROM Genealogy Center should begin operation. Several thousand dollars worth of genealogy CDs, funded mostly by the Pleasanton Library League, are now on order. The hardware, being furnished by the Pleasanton Library, should be ready then also. The Pleasanton Genealogy Library now boasts 851 books. The last formal count was in August 1996, when the total stood at 793, so the increase in 18 months was 58 books. This is the largest genealogical collection in any of the branches of the Alameda County Library. A new printed catalog of our holdings is now in preparation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- R E M I N D E R Dues for 1998 are overdue! Individual $18 Family 25 Benefactor 40 Patron 100 Donations to our new CD-ROM acquisition fund will be greatly appreciated. Pay the Business Manager or his alternate at one of the meetings, or send a check made out to "L-AGS" to: L-AGS P.O. Box 901 Livermore, CA 94551-0901 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Regular Monthly Meeting for January 1998 Tuesday, January 13, 1998 - 7:30 pm Location: Congregation Beth Emek, 1886 College Ave., Livermore Program: Installation of Officers, plus program to be announced. This is our annual inauguration meeting. Officers to be installed are: President Lori Codey First VP and Membership Chair David Whisman Second VP and Program Chair Garth Ludwig Business Manager Hal Norris Recording Secretary Karen Banta Corresponding Secretary Vicki Renz For information about the program call Garth Ludwig at XXX-XXXX. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Genealogy Study Group Jolene Abrahams, Leader Thursday, January 15, 1998 - 7:30 pm Location: LDS Church, 950 Mocho St., Livermore (parking and entrance in the rear). Program: "Preparing to go to Salt Lake City," presented by George and Harriet Anderson How do you prepare yourself for your long-awaited trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City? Preparation can make the difference between success and disappointment. We will present tips that will help you get the most from this major research expense. We will also solicit suggestions from others in attendance who have already made the trip. One of our recommendations is that you invest in a special book on this subject: "Going to Salt Lake City to do Family History Research," Second Edition, by J. Carlyle Parker. The book can be ordered from Mr. Parker at: Marietta Publishing Co. 2115 North Denair Ave. Turlock, CA 95380 Tel. 209 634 9473 The cost is $12.95 + $1.50 shipping + $1.07 tax. Two copies of this book are in the Pleasanton library, one for library use only, the other for check-out, but as of today, the circulating copy is out and not due back until January 20. The Livermore Library may also have copies, but I was not able to reach their dial-up catalog today, probably because of the holidays. Another recommendation is to visit a Web site dedicated to this subject: Tips for Genealogy Research in Salt Lake City http://bl-12.rootsweb.com/~genepool/slc.htm - - - - - Members needing help with a genealogy problem may call one of the club officers, who will attempt to find someone who can help. For information call Jolene Abrahams at 510 XXX-XXXX or send her e-mail at XXXX@prodigy.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Interest Group Doug Mumma, Group Leader Thursday, January 22, 1998 - 7:30 pm Location: Sonoma School, 543 Sonoma Avenue, Livermore Program: "GEDCOM Files and Utilities" This meeting will explore what a GEDCOM file is, how to create one, and how to manipulate the data it contains with special viewer programs or your word processor program. This session will be especially useful if you either send or receive GEDCOM files by snail mail or E-mail from friends or relatives. If you have a troublesome file, bring it with you and we will view and discuss it. ******************* NOTE THE NEW LOCATION FOR THIS GROUP *************** You can go to the following URL to view a map showing Sonoma school. http://www.l-ags.org/sonoma.html The classroom assignment will be posted on that page next week. - - - - - Members needing help with a computer problem may call one of the mentors listed in the Members' Handbook. For information call Doug Mumma at XXX-XXXX or Dave Curry at XXX-XXXX. You can E-Mail us at: XXXX@mumma.org or XXXX@aol.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- L-AGS Family Tree Maker Focus Group There will be NO Family Tree Maker Focus Group in January. ******************* NOTE THE NEW LOCATION FOR THIS GROUP *************** The L-AGS focus group for Family Tree Maker will meet from now on at the Sonoma School, 543 Sonoma Avenue, Livermore. The classroom to be used may vary month-to-month - watch the monthly announcement for classroom assignment. You can go to the following URL to view a map showing the school and classroom location. http://www.l-ags.org/sonoma.html The purpose of the focus group is to discuss problems, solutions, and questions anyone has with Family Tree Maker. If you have some specific issue you would like dealt with, send me an email message describing the issue so we can be prepared at the meeting. For further information, call me at XXX-XXXX, or email me at XXXX@tdl.com. J'Nell Thompson ----------------------------------------------------------------------- New to our Web Site A fine new addition to the L-AGS Web pages was uploaded last month by Vicki Renz. She worked several months to develop a replacement for our skimpy "Guide to the Internet" page. The new guide, reached from our home page (http://www.l-ags.org) by the link titled "Useful Internet Links", is a well-organized, comprehensive but not massive list of sites most useful to L-AGS members. Vicki used sound library science principles to select and organize the sources. Make this your jumping-off point when surfing the Web! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- L-AGS Library The L-AGS library is housed in the Pleasanton Library at 400 Old Bernal Avenue in Pleasanton. The hours are: Monday and Tuesday Noon to 9 pm Wednesday and Thursday 10 am to 9 pm Friday closed Saturday 10 am to 5 pm Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm A L-AGS docent, helping with the Internet as well as with genealogy, is currently on duty at the library on Wednesdays from 10 am to 1 pm. Members who would like to serve as genealogy docents may contact Judy Person at XXX-XXXX. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWLY UPGRADED FAMILY HISTORY CENTER IN PLEASANTON Garth Ludwig has furnished the following information about the LDS Family History Center in Pleasanton: The following are the current hours for the Pleasanton FHC at the Pleasanton Stake house on the corner of Valley and Paseo Santa Cruz. The building faces North and the entrance to the library is on the East side. Wednesday 7:00 p. m. to 9:00 p. m. Friday 11:00 a. m. to 1:00 p. m. (closed January 2) The library has just been upgraded by the Church and now has four microfilm readers, fiche readers and two computers running the Family Search program. We also have the ability to order film from Salt Lake City. We welcome non-LDS patrons and when we complete our expansion we will have more open hours and will probably want to use L-AGS persons in the library like Livermore. If the current hours don't fit, call Nan Reuel, 510 XXX-XXXX for an appointment. She is the library director. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Livermore Family History Center The LDS Family History Center at 950 Mocho Street in Livermore is open at the following times: Monday 10 am to 3 pm Wednesday and Thursday 6 pm to 9 pm Saturday 1 pm to 4 pm (closed January 3) L-AGS members who would like to serve as docents at the FHC may contact Jeanne Tanghe at XXX-XXXX. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ride-sharing Offered If you are interested in attending a meeting and would like a ride, or can occasionally offer a ride, please call David Abrahams at XXX-XXXX (e-mail: XXXX@ccnet.com) or Karen Banta at XXX-XXXX (e-mail: XXXX@aol.com). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The L-AGS website is located at: http://www.l-ags.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Readability To make sure this message is readable by the maximum number of different computer systems, it is transmitted in plain text, without embedded formatting. The message was composed in 10 point monospaced Courier font, in a 6.125 inch column width. Any necessary indenting and centering was done with spaces, not tabs. If the text appears ragged on your screen, change to 10 point Courier font, or copy the message to a word processor and change the font there. George W. Anderson Jr.