[Genealib] Genealogy collection arrangement

[Traci Thompson]

Hi,

I use Dewey for local history materials (i.e., general histories of North
Carolina, history of agriculture in the South, etc.) and my own creation for
genealogy materials, a sort of warped Dewey if you will, that allows for
geographic region by alphabetical order.  This is combined with the numbers
assigned by the NC State Archives to NC counties, so there is some
consistency between the Archives and us. I've worked in two area libraries
and implemented this system at both, and it works well.

I use 929.397 for NC and 929.375 for VA (and build numbers for other states
as necessary.) For counties within the states, I then use the county's
initial letter plus the State Archives county number.  I follow this with a
lower-case letter indicating the type of genealogical resource the book is.
If applicable, I also include the years the work covers for quick reference.

For example, a book of 19th century Nash County, NC wills would be:

929.397
N069w
1800-1899

This puts all states together, all county material together, counties in
alphabetical order, and similar materials together alphabetically.

Hope that helps!

Traci Thompson
Local History/Genealogy Librarian
Braswell Memorial Library
Rocky Mount, NC



>
> Hello,
>
> I am new to Genealogy Librarianship. Our Genealogy Room is currently set up
> by region and then by Dewey. I am wondering whether this is a common
> practice for Genealogy Rooms/Libraries. Can anyone give me examples of
> set-ups that are different? Would it be wrong to put the room strictly in
> Dewey order? You can respond directly if you would like to
> christopher.livingston at kerncountylibrary.org<mailto:
> christopher.livingston at kerncountylibrary.org>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Chris
>
> Christopher B. Livingston
> Special Collections Librarian
> Beale Memorial Library
> 701 Truxtun Avenue
> Bakersfield, CA 93311
> www.kerncountylibrary.org
>
>
>
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