New Journal Editor Seeks Volunteers – Lots of Them!
by Diane L. Richard, NCGS Journal Editor, journaleditor@ncgenealogy.org
Starting with the January 2016 issue of the North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, I will become the editor. I will be ably assisted by Hope Blackford. My focus will be content and the big picture while Hope will focus on the nitty-gritty of presenting that content. We have worked together for a few years producing Wake Treasures, the 2011 NCGS Award-winning journal of the Wake County Genealogical Society, and look forward to the opportunity to bring you relevant content on North Carolina records and ancestors using a visually interesting format.
We have found that a genealogy journal best benefits from many hands. We cannot do it all. Everyone researching North Carolinian ancestors has something to contribute.
There is no minimum length for contributed material. A single document, a transcription of a few related papers, a complex case study, images from a Bible, a single newspaper notice, etc., are all welcome. The only constraint is that submissions need to be connected to North Carolina or its people in some manner. If possible, please provide an image with your submissiona scanned image of a document, a picture of family members or a locale, etc. I dont know about you, but pictures do catch my eye and encourage me to read more. Lots of text can be overwhelming.
Not an NCGS member? Not a problem. Anyone can contribute material to or volunteer to assist with the Journal.
Do you live outside North Carolina? Have you stumbled across some neat North Carolina records? Please take a photo or make a scan, then send a fax, e-mail, or even snail mail a copy of what you found. Be sure to include a full source citation. The material will be abstracted or transcribed. You will get credit for submitting the material while others will be credited for making it Journal ready. We are a team!
Likewise, technology better allows us to involve more individuals, especially those who dont live in North Carolina, or who like to work in their pajamas, or who just dont have a lot of time. With a few clicks of a mouse, I can provide material to anyone living anywhere to abstract or transcribe. E-mail and Dropbox dont care where you live, what time zone you live in, or whether you are a morning person or a night owl.
Worried that transcribing is hard and what you do wont be good enough? Dont worry. Every time we abstract or transcribe a record and put that content into an indexed journal, we have created an opportunity for researchers to access something that was previously unavailable to them. One of my mantras is, “Anything that we transcribe or abstract is more than what the readers had before.”
The Journal needs to reflect a variety of record types and time periods. This can only happen with the help of its readers and other North Carolina researchers. Working as a team benefits us all. Please do consider joining our team. No contribution is too small.
Go, NCGS Journal Team, Go!