Organizing Your Family History Search: Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research

This book is EXACTLY what you should get before you really get "into" doing your genealogy research. Wish I had! Instead I found myself being overwhelmed with what I had found and my various tries at organizing it just wasn't working! I did my research and this books looked like it had the most of what I wanted. That was an understatement. I have a LOT of work to do to organize my 1+ years of research ... but this book is really helping me get my act together.One of the things I like best is she does not offer "THIS IS THE WAY TO DO xyz" ... instead she offers several ways to accomplish the specific task. States why you might want to use one over another and why she uses a specific one now.Well written, easy to understand. Written as if she was sitting at your kitchen table just talking to you. Highly recommend!

I have been caught up in this addictive hobby of genealogy for fifteen years now and have over the years tried many different ways of dealing with my ever-increasing pile of info and documents. I had tried folders and various types of filing systems; I had even tried my own numbering and coding systems with disasterous consequences; they just didn't work.In desperation I ordered this book and upon reading it I was truly enlightened. Wow, why hadn't I thought of doing it this way before. The ideas in this book are simple now that I've read it, but they are truly effective. I can now put my finger on any piece of info I require within seconds, which in the past may have taken me anywhere up to two days to find. This book is a 'must have' for any genealogist, but especially any new genealogist. Become enlightened and organised at the beginning of your venture into family history, don't have to stop in full-flight like I did to tidy up the mess you've left behind you.Highly recommended. :-)

About seven months ago I decided to tackle an exciting yet daunting new project: researching my family history and genealogy. Although I'm hobbyist and a novice (at best), I still wanted to approach my research in an organized and professional fashion. Unfortunately I couldn't find very many rescources that dug down into various strategies for organizing and keeping on top of the kind of piles of paper and files that only a genealogy project can generate.Sharon DeBartolo Carmak's book made me feel like I had a coach and a cheering section rooting along with me as I dove into my project! Her thoughtful, organized chapters clearly illustrated her points and provided an indespensable roadmap around common organizational stumbling blocks and pitfalls of the budding researcher. This book helped me to make informed decisions about how to approach and organize my research by outlining a variety of methods for collecting and organizing my research files, handling correspondence, and updating my data. The book provides handy tips throughout from other professional genealogists and historians, and includes pointers to other relevant resources such as reference books, societies, software and services. The appendices also include useful basic organizational forms you can photocopy and use in your own research.I strongly recommend that anyone considering beginning a genealogy research project start with this book.

This book has taken over top status as the most useful genealogy book I've encountered. Although I'm well organized and experienced in research and records management, Carmack's practical, logical approach has guided my work to the next level of efficiency and success. Highly recommended for newcomers to genealogy as well as veterans.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR EVERY GENEALOGIST!!!Ms. Carmack hasprovided all the information in one book that will benefit allgenealogists. Not only does she explain (in detail and understandable) all aspects of organization in genealogy, but she also supplies a great number of forms that you can copy that makes genealogy a breeze! She is saving me time and keeping me on track every day. I highly recommend this wonderful book!