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Rating: 
Summary: Organization is my downfall
Review: ... and frankly, this book does a lackluster job of helping get organized. I had a basic problem with the author's idea that there is only one good filing system for genealogy. I don't subscribe to the numbering system that she advocates, nor do I think binders are the wave of genealogy filing. I have been researching for 15 years now, and I still find that the best way to be organized is any way that works for you. I gave it three stars for the forms that she includes; they are passable.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent organizational resource for the novice genealogist
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A 'must - have', truly wonderful book
Review: 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. :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Indispensable
Review: I started digging into my family's history some three years ago but only ordered "Organizing Your Family History Search" one year ago, because I realized that I urgently needed a system for organizing the mountain of documents I had accumulated. De Bartolo's book came in very handy to learn how to start this intimidating task. In her book, she describes two main methods of organizing the many papers a genealogist will inevitably collect. I carefully read her suggestions, then decided on one of the two methods simply because it seemed to suit me better. I liked that she gives alternatives and also points out that one might just as well combine the two methods. She doesn't MAKE people go a certain route with organizing their papers, but discusses the advantages and disadvantages of both methods thus gving the readers room to adapt her methods to their individual needs. She also offers plenty of organizational forms which readers can copy for their records. I took them as a basis for designing my own forms on my computer... This book is especially useful for novices/beginners in the field of genealogy because on top of helping organize one's documents, it puts structure into one's reasearch, giving the reader a perspective for what is useful, and what might be disregarded in the search for one's history. And because it is so adaptable, many people will find their ideal way to go with it. No one should "throw oneself" into genealogy without this book!
Rating:
Summary: Can only buy ONE book on Genealogy Research? Get this one!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Who would you be if you didn't know who you was
Review: This is an excellent text for organizing your search for identity. My mother had always told us we were descended from Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. Sadly after reading this book, organizing my search and digging up the real information the truth is not as notable. It appears our entire genealogy, after running the gamut of various asylums for alcoholism and insanity, dead ends in some bizarre incestual prison camp off the coast of Madagascar. A bit disappointing but it explains the cross-eyed ness and assorted tics that run unchecked in our family.
Rating:
Summary: Who would you be if you didn't know who you was
Review: This is an excellent text for organizing your search for identity. My mother had always told us we were descended from Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. Sadly after reading this book, organizing my search and digging up the real information the truth is not as notable. It appears our entire genealogy, after running the gamut of various asylums for alcoholism and insanity, dead ends in some bizarre incestual prison camp off the coast of Madagascar. A bit disappointing but it explains the cross-eyed ness and assorted tics that run unchecked in our family.
Rating:
Summary: Good portions, but overall, terribly stilted.
Review: This is not a bad book. Parts of this book are extremely helpful to help you organize your genealogical papers. The probem with this book is that the author lets her own dated opinion keep her from seeing the bigger picture in the state of genealogical research. In essence, she spites herself out of writing an excellent resource. She has a rather misplaced rant about using genealogy software instead of handwritten and handtyped family resource sheets and pedigree charts. She uses a case study to back it up, which only shows she wears blinders. (The case study involves a woman who clearly would have been disorganized whether she would have used a computer or not to keep track of her research.) Computer genealogy software such as Family Tree Maker, Legacy, Generations and Clooz, only helps genealogist and amateurs keep track of what they have. A person can look at their information presented so many ways (reports, charts, lists) just by a mouseclick. It is a completely different topic than organization and simply did not belong in the book, especially being ravaged as it was. It would be like someone saying at the turn of the century, that typewriters were not desirable for an organized genealogy file, because you would have to retype everything you'd already handwritten. (Another part of her logic.) She also only extensively covers storage via file folder. Now, I don't know about you, but considering I live in an apartment I really don't have room for a file cabinet. For hard copies and photocopied documents, I keep 16 one inch, color-coded binders I store spine out in a storage bin in one of my closets. I have no problems desiring more space or any feelings that my organization should be more efficient. You might say, but you're not a professional. No, of course not. But this book is not a trade publication and is targeted at beginners or at least people who have gotten over that first hump and realize they have to do something with their notebooks. In this day and age, the author's kind of thinking hampers the reader from taking the rest of the information seriously. Do yourself a favor and read one of the many beginner's books on genealogy (Managing a Genealogical Project, or Unpuzzling Your Past, for example) that gives the same core information with a lot less attitude.
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