Publishing and research at Family history group

Frome Family History Group learnt about publishing and research at a recent meeting when they were visited by researcher Barbara Elsmore.

Chris Featherstone reports, “Barbara showed us examples of many different kinds of research published in book or pamphlet form emphasising the fact that there is no right way to complete the task.

“However, Barbara suggests that thought is given to who the target audience will be. Most of us will want to make our research available to other members of the family and local printers will be able to produce a printed document at a reasonable cost.

“If, however the story is of wider interest, then it is possible to publish it yourself either by having multiple copies printed or by using one of the online companies who print a copy of the book to order.

“Various sources for research were outlined by Barbara that members may not have thought of, including school magazines, local parish magazines, personal diaries and newspaper articles.

“She emphasised that each story should include a who, what, when, how and why. Individual profiles of a member of the family are a good way to start but an interesting alternative is to weave your family story into a fictional novel.

“An excellent introduction to writing is to start a blog. This is a regularly updated website or web page typically run by one person or a small group that is written in an informal style.

“Barbara finished her talk by reading from War Memorial by Clive Aslet; a story about the lost sons of a Devon village. Many questions were taken from the audience and Barbara was thanked for a most enjoyable evening.

“There is no meeting in August so our next talk will be on 27th September when Tony Painter will be talking about West Country dialects.

“Free family history advice sessions continue on the first Saturday in the month in the library. To book your place, please contact the library staff.”