Committee Spotlight: Library

Library Committee Chair Henry Snyder

2014 Library Committee Members:
Henry Snyder (Chairman), Janet McDonald, Kristi Wessenberg, Shirley Hoye, Arlene Miles, Carrie Fruzza, Gibran Roth, Nancy Schlegel, Marcelle White.

Libraries are out-of-date. The internet has made libraries obsolete. These statements appear more frequently as the use of digital resources grows. No one can deny that the internet has become a powerful force in making information available but not everyone is ready to give up the ability to personally hold and examine the resource they are consulting. Library Committee members agree with the need for the existence of libraries and at the same time acknowledge that online access is also crucial. Every single committee member interviewed emphasized how dynamic and important the library is not only for society members but for anyone doing genealogical research.

As an introduction to the committee, a few facts about the library itself will make clear the reasons for their dedication. If you have not looked through the catalog (available online via the website), you are missing the chance to explore a collection offering a wide range of research materials. According to Committee Chairman, Henry Snyder, there are 13,400 items in the online catalog. A quick browse of the catalog reveals numerous enticing sources whether your family history has roots in California, elsewhere in the U.S., or in other parts of the world.

In the more than 100 years of its existence, the library has been located at several sites in San Francisco. The original collection was destroyed by fire during the 1906 earthquake and had to be recreated from scratch. In the years following it shared locations with a number of different institutions and organizations such as the Sutro Collection Library, the San Francisco Public Library, the Sons of the American Revolution Library (in the War Memorial Building) and the California Historical Society before moving to two locations of its own in San Francisco and eventually to its present home across the bay in Oakland.

The committee has been fortunate to have had the expertise of professional librarians over the years and continues to attract enthusiastic volunteers who tend to the ongoing tasks needed to keep the library functioning. According to Dr. Snyder, “A major accomplishment this past year was the processing to completion of all the books, and problems awaiting attention on the shelves behind our desk. They are all cleared out! Moreover, we cleaned up three drawers of cards, all pulled because of some cataloguing issue. The backlog dated back to 2005.”

Shirley Hoye and Arlene Miles

There is a lot going on constantly behind the scenes at the library. Volunteers tackled an extensive manuscript collection whose contents were mostly unknown and which was unavailable for regular use. Although it is not yet part of the online catalog, the collection is searchable and available to researchers at the library. Another volunteer made the first lists of the microfilm and microfiche collections from which the online catalog entries for this collection were created. There is a wide range of information such as passenger and immigrant lists, military records and much more available on microfilm and microfiche. A current project needing volunteers involves cataloging the vertical files, 2 or 3 page documents that are stored in filing cabinets and which contain a wealth of information on innumerable topics. Along with scrapbooks there are composite volumes that group together unrelated materials like pamphlets, family Bible records and cemetery records. It is necessary to separate and catalog all these items to make the information in them useful and searchable. If you enjoy the hunt for historical treasure, this is a great project to volunteer for. Former committee member Jane Lindsey says that she has been told that the CGS library contains material that can be found nowhere else. There are many more “little gems” awaiting discovery.

However, not all of the library collection is unique; duplicates of existing items and material not relevant to the mission of the library have to be moved on to free up needed space. To help solve this problem, the eBay project was created. Marcelle White, who headed this project last year, reports that “Since the end of February 2013, almost 300 books have been sold, raising about $6,000 for the library.” She also registered CGS with PayPal’s “Giving Fund” program, which helps nonprofits keep more of the profits from eBay Sales. Thanks to the efforts of Marcelle, Henry Snyder, Arlene Miles, and Shirley Hoye, CGS is now a “top-rated seller” on eBay and ships books all over the U.S. and even to France. Direct sales are another part of this effort. According to Henry Snyder, “We have sold several thousand dollars’ worth of books at two meetings – our event with the New England Historic Genealogical Society and at the Ancestry Day extravaganza. The proceeds fund all our acquisitions and other library needs.”

Marcelle White and Arlene Miles

The combination of regular library tasks and special projects makes it possible for volunteers of different skill levels to make significant contributions as part of the Library Committee. Many volunteers are active in more than one area at a time. Long-time volunteer, Arlene Miles, manages the serials as well as assisting with or managing a myriad of other essential projects. Arlene and Shirley Hoye are at work doing a long overdue shelf list check to make sure everything on the shelves is in the online catalog. Carrie Fruzza has joined the team and has taken over some of the responsibilities for serials allowing Arlene to help in other areas. And there are still many projects to be done. One project that needs volunteers is checking the publications of California county historical and genealogical society publications against the CGS library resources to see what we need to acquire. Not many members are aware that the library owns pedigree charts recorded on long rolls of paper. These have just been unrolled and need to be reviewed and analyzed before they can be useful. For aficionados of maps, there is a whole map case that has to be organized. You do not have to be a professional librarian to help; the role of the library itself is diverse and there is a need for many different kinds of talents to assist in keeping it vital and relevant.

Copyright © 2014 by Kathryn Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Spotlight Series: Membership Committee

Sandy Fryer, Kathie Jones, Diana Edwards, Shirley Thomson, Nancy Servin, Cheryl Schmidt, and Kathie Heller

2013 Membership Committee members:

Diana Edwards, chair and board liaison

Sandy Fryer, consultant
Kathie Heller
Kathie Jones

Cheryl Schmidt

Nancy Servin

Diana Edwards vividly remembers her very first quarterly membership meeting. “It was fifteen minutes long,” she recalls. Diana, now Chairman of the Membership Committee, has been charged by the Board of Directors with the responsibility for creating a format for the quarterly meetings that will be meaningful and which will foster a sense of fellowship among members. With the assistance of Kathie Heller, Diana has been hard at work fulfilling this charge.

An hour-long brown bag lunch now routinely preceeds the quarterly meetings, providing a time for members to talk to each other, to exchange information about what they’re doing with their family history research as well as to get to know the officers in attendance. The object is to encourage an exchange of ideas and to give members a sense of community relative to the larger organization.

All quarterly meetings will have a theme. Recently the topic was World War I and members were asked to bring in photos and memorabilia of their relatives who had been involved in the Great War. There were many great items on display and lots of stories shared at this meeting. Reaction was very positive with members saying that they had learned a lot. Several people mentioned gaining a new perspective of the role of women in that war from material about the Ambulance Corps brought in by a member whose ancestor had been part of that group. Diana is busy planning future meetings and encourages members to contact her with suggestions of themes and any other ideas for improving the quarterly meetings. You can email Diana at dedwards@californiaancestors.org. Right now she is planning a potluck for the first meeting of the year.

Although our organization is located in California, members do not have to have ancestors from this state in order to belong and members come from all over the U.S. as well as many other parts of the world, including Australia. Obviously, members from out of the Bay Area probably aren’t going to attend the quarterly meetings, classes and events. Another one of the duties of the Membership Committee is to create opportunities to make these far-flung members feel that they are as much a part of the society as those who live in the immediate area. This can be difficult although the eNews, the blog, The California Nugget, and other forms of communication do help to bridge the distance gap. Diana hopes that using items with the California Genealogical Society seal (flash drives, coffee mugs) will remind members wherever they may live that they are part of a group that shares their interests and concerns.

Seal of the California Genealogical Society (CGS).

Another responsibility of the Membership Committee is representing CGS at events, meetings and conferences. The committee always has a presence at our events including the recent Ancestry Day in San Francisco. Many new members first find out about CGS at such an event. Member volunteers staff a table every year at the San Francisco History Expo and even at some national genealogy conferences. This year CGS was represented at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in Burbank and at the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The work of the committee is so far-reaching that it could be said to consist of two sub-committees in order to perform all its functions. The second group is made up of Nancy Servin (coordinator), Nancy Fike and Cheryl Schmidt. They send out the annual renewal notices about membership dues and keep the membership rolls current by tracking changing email and snail mail addresses. Nancy Servin answers numerous questions from members ranging from problems with logging into the website to using member benefits. To help new members take advantage of all the society has to offer, the sub-committee created a new member packet that includes a summary sheet that tells members how to keep current on upcoming classes and events and information about the library, research tours and publications.

This sub-committee has a pretty big job since there are currently more than 1100 members to keep track of. According to Sandy Fryer, 2012 chairman and 2013 consultant, that amounts to 2500 emails and over 1500 letters per year. With assistance from QuickBooks, the committee manages this complex database of names and information and gets the notices out on time. One of the features of joining the committee is that, if necessary, members receive QuickBooks training so prospective members don’t need to be database gurus.

If you ever thought that all the Membership Committee did was mail out the annual dues notices, you weren’t doing justice to the complexity of all it does!

Photograph courtesy of Linda Harms Okazaki, 02/10/2013, Oakland, California.

Copyright © 2013 by Marie Treleaven, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Spotlight Series: Events Committee

Seated front: Therese Hart-Pignotti, Jane Lindsey, Geri Willinger. Standing back: Rich Kehoe, Debbie Mascot, Ron Madson, Sandy Fryer, Lynne Dory, Linda Okazaki, Todd Armstrong, Diana Edwards

“Awesome.” “Committed.” “Efficient but fun.” This is how the members of the Events Committee describe their team. For anyone not familiar with their work, the Events Committee is responsible for planning all in-house classes and workshops – everything from picking topics, arranging speakers, obtaining speaker photos, biographies and lecture handouts, setting up online registration, sending reminders and follow-up evaluations, and setting up the classroom on the day of the event. They arrange the field trips to archives and libraries and other places of local interest for genealogists. The committee also oversees our Special Events and Tours, for example the research trip to Family History Library in Salt Lake City. These are the primary fund-raisers for the society which pay the lion’s share of the rent for the library.

This amazing diversity of efforts on behalf of the organization is accomplished by a fairly small group of members who make this their way of giving back. Committee member Debbie Mascot exemplifies this point of view, “I find that I get more out of a society if I put more in. It’s my way to give back just a little and show how much I value CGS.”

The Events Committee members are: Diana Edwards (membership liaison), Lynne Dory (Saturday in-house events), Rich Kehoe (both Saturday events and maintaining the calendar), Debbie Mascot (fliers), Jane Lindsey, Sandy Fryer, Geri Willinger (field trips), Therese Hart-Pignotti, and Erin Kelleher-Wees (registration, reminders, evaluations, etc. for special events and tours – with Tim Cox as consultant).

One of the most important roles of the committee is creating the public ‘face’ of our organization. The committee works between the membership and the public to bring them together in a way that enhances knowledge and familiarizes the larger community both about the society and about genealogy. People who otherwise would never have heard of the California Genealogical Society not only discover its existence but get an immediate demonstration of the value of belonging to this organization. Members of the public who come to events at the library or to Special Events such as Ancestry Day not only discover that there is a local association of people who share their interests in genealogy but also that CGS offers them the benefits of being part of an active organization dedicated to enhancing the skills of its membership. Committee member Sandy Fryer says: “Events are a big draw for people joining CGS. It is satisfying to work on something that members are so interested in.”

This year’s upcoming special events are a great example of outreach to the public. Here is a barebones look at each event and the people responsible for them in order of their appearance. And don’t forget that this list of committee members is truly the tip of the iceberg; dozens more volunteer their time to make these events a success.

Their Roots Are Showing! [October 26, 2013 at the Del Valle Theater in Walnut Creek]: Therese Hart-Pignotti (Chair), Shannon Reese, Kathie Jones, Linda Okazaki, Rich Kehoe, Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, Todd Armstrong and a group of researchers. In the manner of the TV show Who Do You Think You Are, three Bay Area celebrities will learn about their family history, members will be on hand to answer questions, and a Silent Auction will be held.

Ancestry Day San Francisco [November 9, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco]: Jane Lindsey (Chair), Kathleen Beitiks and Tim Cox (co-Chairs); Cathy Paris, syllabus lay-out. An exciting day of genealogy filled with lectures and presentations as well as a chance to hear advice from the experts.

You will hear a lot more about these events in the coming weeks but, if you’re like most people, you won’t think about the amount of planning and behind-the-scenes work that goes into producing even one of these events. By the way, if you did stop and think about the backstage work, and you felt really excited about doing this kind of work, then the Events Committee would like to hear from you right away! However, even if taking on the organization and planning of a major event isn’t your cup of tea, Committee Chair Jane Lindsey makes sure that all committee members have a role that is manageable. She says “People find that when they are able to give, even just a little bit of their time, they get an amazing amount back. They feel more connected to the organization and freer to ask questions. They realize they are part of a bigger organization. I have tried hard to find manageable jobs for people who are interested in helping but work full time or have other heavy commitments.“ Debbie Mascot wholeheartedly agrees: “When Jane asked me to help with fliers, I realized that despite my full time work, my two young children, and all my other volunteer work, that this was something I actually could do. I am thankful to Jane for finding a spot for me at CGS.”

Besides the Special Events, the regular Saturday in-house classes and presentations offer numerous opportunities for members to increase their skills in genealogical research and to hear from experts about topics of interest to them. Most classes are free to members but cost a $20 fee for non-members. Jane reports that she has heard people saying to non-members that they really should join CGS; “they have such great classes available FREE to members.” Lynne Dory, a fairly new member and one of the organizers of the Saturday classes, says: “I like volunteering because I meet new people who share a love of genealogy. I get to exercise my brain in doing things outside my normal sphere of activity. I get to participate in the events we produce. I get to give back and make a difference. I enjoy being part of a team.”

When asked if there was anything unique about the people who volunteer for the Events Committee, Jane said: “I’m not sure there are any unique characteristics. Some people are outgoing, others are organized and efficient, and still others are creative. I think each member brings something helpful to the committee and they all mesh together to make a good committee.” Members’ reasons for joining are varied but there is a common thread of wanting to give back, to meet new people and to learn from the experience.

Planning for 2014 will be underway shortly and there are lots of opportunities for anyone who would like to experience the satisfaction of being part of this enthusiastic working group. The group makes it as easy as possible to participate by holding regular monthly meetings by phone. Email Jane Lindsey to get started.

Photograph courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey, 9/12/2013.

Copyright © 2013 by Marie Trelevean, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Spotlight on the Manuscript Collection: The Covell Family Papers

Just over a year ago the California Genealogical Society celebrated completion of the Manuscript Project – a comprehensive review and organization of the collection of donated family materials made to the society over its 112 year history. The collection totals ninety linear feet which has been cataloged and stored in a specially prepared archive room. Boxes of family information including the usual ancestry charts, family group sheets, ancient documents, letters, photographs, and many other types of items are alphabetically arranged.

A comprehensive document contains a descriptive synopsis of each family collection, providing the family surnames, geography, timeframe and description of the material. The latest version of the CGS Manuscript Collection Database was uploaded to the website in July 2010, and is free and available for download.


Materials continue to be donated to the society. Those recently received include materials from the Fischbeck, Covell, and Young families, and a Mills Terrace Christian Church, Oakland, photo album with more than 70 identified photographs.

Manuscript Committee members Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner are the current caretakers of the collection and they hope shine a periodic spotlight on some of the family treasures under their care. This month's focus is COVELL.

Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner

The Covell collection was received in March 2010 and contains vital, deed and probate records, obituary and news articles, family correspondence, mementos, many original photos and portraits, school yearbooks, pedigree charts and family history files on the Covell and Coover families and related lines. It was compiled by Leah Jeanette Porter Gainer, great-granddaughter of Frank Marion Covell and Ann Eliza Peffers, granddaughter of Archer Morgan Covell and Leah Coover, daughter of Leah Jeanette Covell and Homer Porter. Mrs. Gainer died December 29, 2007.

Ann Eliza Peffers Covell

The patriarch of the family in California was Frank Morgan Covell, born to Morgan Covell and Laura Chamberlain on March 12, 1851 in Ridgebury Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Frank came to California by 1871 and settled in the Santa Cruz area. His interest in genealogy is evidenced by his 1918 hand-written account of the family that details military service by his ancestors in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

 

The collection is filled with personal material that can enrich and amplify a family history. Items include a diary that Frank kept for a brief period of time in which he notes: “May 10th 1872. Took Annie Peffers to dance. Made Charly Myars mad. He won’t hurt anybody I guess.” Frank and Annie were married a year later.

Also in the file is Frank’s 1926 letter written to granddaughter, Esther Covell, reminiscing about his 1868 high school graduation and sharing with her some of the hopes and dreams he had as a young man. These items and many more are awaiting the visits of interested descendants and researchers.

The Covell Family papers are a 40 linear inch collection with the following surnames: Aronen, Chamberlain, Chisolm, Coleman, Coover, Covell, Farum, Finley, Gainer, Gammon, Holway, Kane, Maki, Peffers, Porter, Quinn. The family geography includes: California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.


Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle. COVELL family information provided by Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner.

Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Desk Duty at CGS

Captain Marston Watson leads the trusty volunteers who staff the library desk on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when the library is open (9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays; 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays.) Officially and as a group, they are the "Desk Duty Committee" but individually they are the special volunteers who first greet our patrons and are the caretakers of the society's first impression. As you see, smiles come with the job.

Left to Right: Pat Smith, Kathy Watson, Lorna Wallace, Diana Wild,
Judy Bodycote and Dick Rees.

Besides opening for business and staffing the desk, committee members shelve books, field questions, assist patrons, answer phones and give occasional tours of the library. In addition, virtually all desk duty committee members perform other volunteer activities for the society. They are often seen multi-tasking – seeing to their other jobs when the library isn't busy. Members of the Desk Duty Committee also serve as librarians, look-up volunteers, researchers, book repairers and computer technicians. They open mail and do many other miscellaneous and essential tasks. Sometimes they actually get some of their own research done!

The current members of the Desk Duty Committee are: Judy Bodycote, Gloria Hanson, Barbara Hill, Gaye Lenahan, Mary Limosner, Dick Rees, Rick Sherman, Pat Smith, Roland Smith, Peggy Valponi, Lorna Wallace, Kathy Watson, Marston Watson and Diana Wild. Thank you all for your service to our patrons.

Photograph by Kathryn Doyle, September 22, 2008.

CGS Library Committee

What better place for a group of genealogists to spend National Library Week than the Family History Library in Salt Lake City? I'm going to put a little twist on genea-blogger Lori Thornton's summons and write a tribute to the California Genealogical Society Library Committee and librarian volunteers.

The Library Committee is composed of several volunteers with years of experience in all areas of librarianship. They are experienced genealogists as well, who know how to catalog, locate new publications and out-of-print books, keep good records and, best of all, freely give their time and expertise. Past and present committee members include: Gloria Hanson, Barbara Hill, Arlene Miles and Laura Spurrier.

L to R: Laura Spurrier, Arlene Miles, Gloria Hanson. Not shown: Barbara Hill

Gloria Hanson has experience in libraries from Korea to St. Louis. After obtaining her Masters in Library Science (M.L.S.) from the University of Southern California, Gloria decided to "see the world" and worked as a civilian employee for the U.S. Army in Korea where she ran three libraries. Stateside she has worked as a cataloguer for the St. Louis Public Library system and retired from the San Francisco Public Library as a branch district manager. Now Gloria puts her experience to work for CGS primarily in periodical processing and cataloging and receiving books.

Barbara Hill has a total of thirty-three years of library work experience, including time in public, school, technical and academic libraries. Her favorite jobs involved working in library acquisitions which is her focus for the CGS Library Committee. She often humorously ascribes her interest in genealogy to "prenatal influence" since her mother was pregnant with Barbara while researching the family at the Library of Congress. (It probably influenced her career choice as well.) Barbara and her mother collaborated on the family's U.S. and Canadian research for many years until her mother's death.

Arlene Miles is a retired library technician who has acquired an eclectic resume in specialized libraries, including air quality management, law, environmental as well as volunteer work at an electric railway museum. Arlene joined CGS in 2007 intending to do family research but she couldn't resist keeping her fingers "in the library pie." She soon set to work on the uncataloged periodicals, setting up a spreadsheet to organize incoming titles, identify missing issues and process subcription renewals.

Laura Spurrier chairs the Library Committee and acts as head librarian. Her credentials include masters degrees in history and East Indian Area Studies from the University of Wisconsin and a M.L.S. from the University of California, Berkeley. Laura worked for fifteen years at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she retired as a technical information specialist. Genealogy was the family hobby in the Spurrier household so Laura caught the bug as a teenager. She is a specialist in Quaker research and has lectured on the topic to the society.

Please join me in honoring the CGS librarians for the valuable work they do.

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, Salt Lake City, Utah, 4/16/2008.

Copyright © 2008 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Book Repair Committee

The sound of laughter coming from the upstairs annex at the old library in the Latham Building was a sure sign that it was the second Tuesday of the month and the book repairers had their backs to the wall as they toiled in tight quarters. Since the move to the Breuner Building last year, the restoration work continues in more spacious quarters and the mirth now emanates from the back room of the new library. You can't help but get the feeling that these five loyal volunteers really love what they are doing.




The CGS Book Repair Committee, headed by Bill O'Neil, has been meeting like clockwork on the second Tuesday of every month, since the group formed in 1987 under the tutelage of the late Dick Thrift. Because the repair process can require several steps and the committee meets only once per month, it can take several months for the repair business to be completed. During that time, the books are out of circulation.



The committee allows the California Genealogical Society to maintain open stacks. Books in need of care are marked by a blue ribbon and stay on the shelves to allow patron use until the menders can get to them. The most common repairs are for torn spines and loose pages, but the committee has seen it all. Bill explained that their goal when repairing books is to strike a balance between "keeping them in one piece and doing no harm."




Each member "adopts" a book and works on it one day a month until it is ready to be placed back on the shelf. The average book takes three months to complete. The committee repairs an average of 100 books per year.

Tools of the trade.

Lorna Wallace puts the finishing touches on a newly repaired book

Book repair group: (standing) Lorna Wallace, Marianne Frey, Bill O'Neil;
(seated) Anne Robinson and Dick Rees.

Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle, Oakland, California, 12/11/2007.

Copyright © 2008 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.