Beginning Family History - get started with Ann Dixon

*Update: Apologies but we have had to cancel this event....webgurl, 7/11/2011

Interested in researching your family history but not sure how to begin? Start the hunt for your ancestors with Ann Dixon.

When: Tuesday 8th November 1pm
Where: Croydon Library, Civic Square, Croydon
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 92945640 or book online - Family History

Cheers, Maryanne

Family History talks for beginners and beyond

Whether your just starting out or have been researching your family's ancestry for a while we've got some great talks you'd be interested in. 

Using Find My Past in your research

When: Thursday 20th Oct 1:30pm
Where: Healesville Library, 110 River Street, Healesville
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 59624423 or book online - Find My Past

Frustrated with not getting the most out of FindMyPast.uk and FindMyPast.au? Join us at Healesville Library for this informative talk presented by Gail White.



Beginning Family History

Interested in researching family history but not sure how to begin? Start the hunt for your ancestor with Ann Dixon.

When: Thursday 20th Oct 2pm
Where: Belgrave Library, Reynolds Lane, Belgrave
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 97547266 or book online - Beginners

Cheers, Maryanne

Learn the tricks to using Find My Past in your research

Frustrated with not getting the most out of FindMyPast.uk and FindMyPast.au? Join us at Croydon Library for this informative talk presented by Gail White.


When: Saturday 8th October 1pm
Where: Croydon Library, Civic Square, Croydon
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 92945640

Cheers, Maryanne

Further Family History - Follow the next steps to discovering your ancestors

Following on Beginning Family History, Ann Dixon will take you through the next steps to continue your family tree research. This session will cover mainly U.K. records with reference to: familysearch, Birth, Deaths & Marriage records, Census, Parish records, Ancestry and Findmypast.

The session will be approximately 2 hours.

Note: Some knowledge of family history research and an overseas link established, is assumed.

When: Friday 23rd September 2pm
Where: Lilydale Library, Anderson Street, Lilydale
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 92943120 or book online - Family History

Cheers, Maryanne

Using Ancestry in your research

Frustrated with not getting the most out of Ancestry.com library edition, then attend this talk presented by Gail White.

When: Thursday 18th August 2pm
Where: Belgrave Library, Reynolds Lane, Belgrave
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 97547266 or book online - Ancestry

Cheers, Maryanne

Get the most out of Ancestry.com - tips from a Family History expert

Join Gail White as she again presents the informative session on how to make the most of Ancestry.com for your family history searches . All library computers give free access to this program and Gail’s talk is very helpful as she explains the best way to search and use the program. Free event, all welcome.

When: Thursday 14th July 2pm
Where: Rowville Library, Stud Park Shopping Centre, Stud Road, Rowville
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 92941300 or book online - Ancestry

Cheers, Maryanne

Family History resources move from Ringwood to Croydon Library

Setting up the Family History room

All Family History resources that were housed at Ringwood Library have now be relocated to the Croydon branch as from Monday 4th July.

This includes all books, magazines, fiche and the CDROMs that were on the Genealogy PC, as well as the microfiche scanner and printer, and readers.

There are still two readers, fiche and a genie PC with CDROM records at Ringwood, including BDM for Victoria. However these records are limited.

Kathy Smalley, the Family History Librarian, will now be working at the Croydon branch - her 2 days there are Wednesday 12noon - 8pm and Thursday all day.

Cheers, Maryanne

Ringwood Family History room is unavailable until Monday 4th July

Due to some Family History microfiche and CD records being relocated to Croydon Library, the Ringwood Family History room will be unavailable from Friday 24th June to Monday 4th July.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Cheers, Maryanne

Are you not getting the most out of Ancestry.com? Get tips from the expert

If you are frustrated with not getting the most out of Ancestry.com library edition, attend this talk presented by Gail White.
When: Thursday 26th May 1:30pm
Where: Healesville Library, 110 River St, Healesville
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 59624423 or book online - Ancestry

Cheers, Maryanne

Get tips on using Find My Past (UK and Aust) in your research

Frustrated with not getting the most out of Find My Past UK and Find My Past Australia? Attend this talk presented by Gail White and you'll be searching records like a professional.

Refreshments provided.
When: Tuesday 19th April 2pm
Where: Knox Library, 425 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 98011422 or book online - find my past

Cheers, Maryanne

We are currently experiencing issues with the UK edition of findmypast

We are currently having some issues accessing the UK version of findmypast. The Australian version is working with no problems. We are working on a fix with the vendors.

If you are after information from the UK census' please search Ancestry from our Family History website although not the 1911 census.

I'll advise everyone when this is fixed.

Cheers, Maryanne

The Eastern Regional Library Show 8-15th December 2010 [Eastern FM 98.1]

Library staff members Lesley Conway and Pia Butcher run a radio show each Wednesday 12:05pm-12:45pm on Eastern FM 98.1 called The Eastern Regional Library Show. Tune in next Wednesday for a great show.

On 8th & 15th December's shows

The last three weeks have whirled by, and so there are several topics covered in the radio show which we need to catch up on.

Firstly, the children's and teenager's books which Pia reviewed are as follows.........
Gorgon in the gully by Melina Marchetta which is part of a great new series from Puffin. Priced to be affordable from a kid's pocket money, and great stories from popular authors. Maudie and Bear by Jan Ormerod and Freya Blackwood contains several short stories about Maudie and her friend Bear, with beautiful illustrations. A fantastic new book to share with young children..

Wonky donkey, words and music by Craig Smith, illustrations by Katz Cowley. A crazy story/song for primary school age that will have you laughing out loud. Ultimate Dino-pedia by "Dino" Don Lessem, illustrated by Franco Tempesta is a fantastic book for dinosaur fans to enjoy. Torment by Lauren kate is the second in a romance/adventure series, perfect for those teens who love the paranormal.

For family history researchers, there is the good news that you can access Ancestry and FindMyPast databases via Wifi in all our libraries. This means that you do not need to book a library pc, but can research with these resources on your own laptop as long as the library is open. And not to forget the excellent resources available through the Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies www.aigs.org.au and the Genealogical Society of Victoria www.gsv.org.au

Music on our recent shows has been from So Frenchy So Chic 2009 and Cafe Musette by Enrique Ugarte.

Cheers, Maryanne

Beginning Family History, where to begin with Ann Dixon

Interested in researching your family history but not sure how to begin? Start the hunt for your ancestors with Ann Dixon.

When: Saturday 13th November 11am
Where: Rowville Library, Stud Park Shopping Centre, Stud Road, Rowville
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 9294 1300

Cheers, Maryanne

Find out how to use Ancestry and Find My Past in your Family History research

Frustrated with not getting the most out of Ancestry.com library edition and the Find My Past database, then attend this talk presented by Gail White.

Refreshments provided

When: Saturday 6th November 11am
Where: Ringwood Library, 4 Ringwood Street Mall, Ringwood
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 98700177

Cheers, Maryanne

New Family History resources at Eastern Regional Libraries

On the Eastern Regional Libraries radio show last week Kathy discussed the latest Family & Local History books at our libraries:

Family History
Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas by Lucy Sussex
This book covers a selection of sea‐diaries, amateur newspapers and letters from the 1800’s and covers the sea voyages. Many immigrants had little else to do on the ship, beyond childcare and other domestic tasks, for on the ships they did not need to work for their food, so many took up their quill pen. They
could be called Victoria blogs.

Researching Your Family History with Victorian land Records. AIGS
This book describes types of records and time periods, gives source locations and basic research principles.

Write Your Life Story: How to Organise and Record Your Memories for Family and Friends to Enjoy. 4th ed., by Michael Oke
This book takes you through the whole process from thinking about it to starting to write, then once it is
finished; there are suggestions for how you want it presented and options for publishing your words.

Getting the Most Out of Findmypast.com.au by Rosemary Kopittke
Subscriptions to online history and genealogy research sites are not cheap so it pays to know how to use them most effectively. Getting the most out of findmypast.com.au includes many examples and tips on how to achieve the most from your searches.

How Did They Get Here?: Arrivals after 1924 by Cora Num
Topics covered include: Using the National Archives of Australia resources, passenger records, naturalisation records, alien and internee records, Hamburg passenger lists, FamilySearch, child and youth migration schemes, online newspapers, Google books, Trove, finding ships' pictures, pictorial databases, Immigration Photographic Archive and Welcome Walls.

Family History on the Cheap by Shauna Hicks
'Family History on the Cheap' examines a broad range of topics including family sources, whether someone has already researched the family, when to use professional researchers, how to obtain discounts, what sites are free, how to plan and organize your research and how to maximise research results from your trips to archives and libraries. An Australian book

What Was The Voyage Really Like? A Brief Guide to Researching Convict and Immigrant Voyages to Australia and New Zealand by Shaun Hicks
Many of us wonder what the actual voyage was like and there are numerous resources that can be used to compile a detailed account of the voyage and what our ancestors would have experienced during the trip. Passenger lists outline who was on the ship ‐ how many people and how many births and deaths occurred on board. There may also be health officer's reports and other ship reports to be found in the Colonial Secretary's correspondence in the various State Archives.

Vietnam Remembered: Updated Edition. Ed. Gregory Pemberton
This thorough account is the whole story of the Vietnam conflict, covering Australia’s foreign policy, national politics, and social attitudes. It contains an updated Roll of Honour of those who served in the Vietnam War.

Local History 

North Ringwood Uniting Church Fifty Years: 1960-2010

City of Knox Historical Street & Road Names by Ray Peace
(Covering Bayswater, Boronia, Ferntree Gully, Knoxfield, Lysterfield, Rowville, Scoresby, The Basin, Upper Ferntree Gully, Wantirna and Wantirna South)

The Yarra Valley Historical: A brief look at early life in the valley and outer eastern suburbs during the mid 1800s to the 1900s.

Valley of hidden treasures : exploring the Warburton Highway 2010
A community volunteer publication featuring the Warburton Highway tourism highlights.

Yarra Junction: A Pictorial History compiled by Val Smith

Cheers, Maryanne

Not sure where to go next with your hunt for ancestors? Come along to Further Family History

Started researching your family history but not sure where to go next? Continue the hunt for your ancestors with Ann Dixon.

When: Thursday 21st October 2pm
Where: Belgrave Library, Reynolds Lane, Belgrave
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 97547266 or book online - family history

Cheers, Maryanne

Not sure where to start with Family History? Come to Beginning Family History

Interested in researching your family history but not sure how to begin? Start the hunt for your ancestors with Ann Dixon

When: Friday 15th October 10am
Where: Ringwood Library, 4 Ringwood Street Mall, Ringwood
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 98700177 or book online - Family History

Cheers, Maryanne

Beginning Family History - start the hunt for your ancestors

Interested in researching your family history but not sure how to begin? Start the hunt for your ancestors with Ann Dixon.

When: Tuesday 7th September 2pm
Where: Lilydale Library, Anderson Street, Lilydale
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 92943120 or book online family history

Cheers, Maryanne

Discover how to use Ancestry and FindMypast in your research

Frustrated with not getting the most out of Ancestry.com library edition and the Find My Past database, then attend this talk presented by Gail White.

When: Thursday 22nd July 1:30pm
Where: Rowville Library, Stud Park Shopping Centre, Stud Road, Rowville
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 92941300 or book online - Using Ancestry

Cheers, Maryanne

The Eastern Regional Library Show 30th June 2010

Library staff members Lesley Conway and Pia Butcher run a radio show each Wednesday 12:05pm-12:45pm on Eastern FM 98.1 called The Eastern Regional Library Show. Tune in next Wednesday for a great show.


On 30th June's show

Family history research has never been so varied or well resourced. We keep you up to date with ERL resources via http://www.erl.vic.gov.au/family/family.htm, but we also receive material regularly from many other sources, which we display on our Community Notice boards and near our Local and Family History collections. One organisation which sends us their program is The Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV). During July there are five talks every Thursday between 12.30 and 1.30 at rooms in the city on topics from 'Tracing Police ancestors', to 'Geelong resources for Family History', 'Finding Australian Defence Service records', 'Following your Ancestors' footsteps in Poland', and 'Old trades and occupations, part 2'. There is a cost of $5.50 per session for non-members. The weblink for GVS is http://www.gsv.org.au/


They are also holding some free sessions in the first week of August, for National Family History Week, which include 'Using Digger software for Australian Births, Deaths and Marriages', 'Starting your Family History', 'Using Archive Digital Books Australia' and 'Using Scotlands People'.

Music on today's program came from David Campbell's Good Lovin', David Hobson The exquisite hour, and The Andrews Sisters Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.

Cheers, Maryanne