The family tree resource book for genealogists

Since 1947 professional and amateur genealogists have relied upon The Handy Book for Genealogists (10th ed., Everton, 2002) to tell which local records exist and how to access them. It has been revised and updated through 10 editions. Now a team from Family Tree has produced a new, similar source that it feels is more affordable and easier to use, and it corrects previous discrepancies even within the county and municipal sources' own information about what is available. The introduction includes very basic information, such as the difference between microfilm and microfiche, a sample letter and guidelines for requesting information by mail, suggestions for preparing to visit an archive, and an admonition to preserve and protect the material that is consulted. Arranged alphabetically by state, the chapters provide the expected information: maps showing current counties; historical overviews, including critical dates; information about special repositories; bibliographies of published sources; and listings for county, parish and town-hall contacts. Each listing provides the date of establishment, address, phone number, Web site, parent county, and types of records kept and dates begun. Also included for each state are unique aspects of available records (for example, Florida's Spanish Land Grants, Georgia's Civil War salt allotments, and Utah's midwives' records) and tips, such as the existence of independent cities and townships whose records might not be in county-based sources. Libraries owning The Handy Book for Genealogists will want to keep it. Its bibliographies are more extensive, information is more precise in some areas, color maps and flags (of the 19 foreign countries included) are more attractive, the hard binding is more durable--and it is a classic in its field. But librarians will want to add this new tool to their collections. The information is more current, the research tips are quite pragmatic, the format for the local records sources is easier on the eyes, and the reasonable price makes it easy to justify the overlapping information. --Sally Jane Copyright 2005 Booklist

This latest from Carmack (Your Guide to Cemetery Research) covers well-traveled ground. Eerily similar in structure and content to Everton Publishers' Handybook for Genealogists (10th ed., 2002), it offers basic historical and genealogical records information from U.S. states and their counties. Each state chapter begins with a brief history of the state accompanied by "at a glance" factoids such as the state's motto and population. An overview of records follows, along with research tips and listings of available censuses and census substitutes for the state. A compilation of contact information for various archives, libraries, and societies follows, along with a bibliography of general resources and titles related to census, immigration, land, map, military, probate, and vital records. For each county in the state, users will find courthouse contact information, a web address, and listings of which agencies or courts within the county hold genealogy. While many state departments of health/vital records are mentioned and some addresses and web sites provided, there is no complete contact listing for all of the state agencies. Bottom Line For public libraries that already own the Handybook and for librarians and researchers who can find their way around such web sites as the USGenWeb Project and Cyndi's List, there's not much here to merit a purchase.-Elaine M. Kuhn, Allen Cty. P.L., Ft. Wayne, IN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.