How To Budget Your Genealogy $ - Part 3 - Carnival of Genealogy - 93rd Edition

By now you have a research plan (or plans), you know how much money overall you have to spend on genealogy, and, you've got recommendations from other genealogists or others about appropriate products or services for your planned research. For Part One and Part Two of this discussion, see here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).

Especially if it's a long term subscription to a genealogy website you're considering, here are even more questions to consider.

#4. For a genealogy or related site that’s recommended, or one you’re looking at:

First – does it really have the service, records, indexes, etc. that cover the area, types of records, and dates you need or want? What proportion of its collections do you think will be useful to you?

–are the collections or services growing, or are they static. (And, how long has it been since it’s been added to). Do the claims seem overdrawn? Or, is there specific information about future plans.

–are these collections or services unique or are they available elsewhere - on-line or off, at a library or Family History Center, for $ or free, on microfilm, or even in print?
Could you make a special trip to a library that has access to try the website out? If you feel the price is too high right now, can you tailor your research plans to make use of free access at a library or Family History Center for now or to use a published or filmed source for now? If your research is in a single area, many genealogical societies have developed indexes to local censuses, BMD and other records. Could you use these at a local library or genealogical library, or could you purchase microfiche or CD copies of indexes to use?

–are there special features or benefits associated with the website subscription or membership? Are there free features or is payment required for everything?

–will you need to download special software? How often is that updated? Is the site/service compatible with your technology?

–what kind of options for payment are there? For example, pay for view, credits to purchase (look for a chart to explain this), day pass, tiered memberships or subscriptions, deluxe versions, 3-6 month subscriptions, full year. Membership versus subscription? Does the company offer any 'loyalty' discounts or specials for members or previous subscribers?
What special offers or free trials are there? Might there be a regular month for trials or special offers so you can test the site out first? If not, I usually recommend a short term subscription or the purchase of a reasonable number of credits first.

–what do the Terms and Conditions say? What uses are allowed, special rules, can you share images freely, use them in your own family history publications, do lookups for others? Are you allowed to share a subscription?

–is there a secure payment system? Automatic renewals? What is the Privacy Policy? If you will be uploading data to a website or ‘cloud’, what protection is in place for your information and for your privacy?

–how long has the website/company/society been in business? Check domain name, ‘about us’, ‘our history’. Look for press releases as usually have this info. (But being brand new isn’t necessarily bad.) Who are the owners/investors/volunteers? Are they associated with other groups/companies? What’s their reputation? How ‘big’ is it? Where is it located? Contact information?

What kind of reputation does the company/individual have currently (again look at dated reviews and comments on-line or in genealogy magazines and journals.) Has the website won any awards?

–does it appear there’s good ‘Help’ on the website? Is there a users group on-line or do you already know a number of people using the website or service? Are there help videos available on CD/on-line?

All these questions may sound discouraging, but having these in mind may keep you from signing up for something you just don't need or won't use. Genealogy doesn't have to break the bank! And, if you manage your genealogy $ carefully, you may be able to afford that special genealogy trip you've been dreaming of. (Start a fund for that too.)

And once you do decide to join a website or purchase credits – keep copies of any e-mail or paper receipts, help information, user names, passwords, and ‘keys’ for software. As you research, keep track of credits used, subscription dates, and membership renewal dates. Just in case there is a problem, you'll have the information you need to deal with it quickly.

Happy genealogy shopping!

This was Part 3 of 3. I'm very interested in your comments and ideas about genealogy budgeting. I'll be writing more about this topic in the future.

This post was written for the 93rd Carnival of Genealogy! Hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.

How To Budget Your Genealogy $ - Part 2 - Carnival of Genealogy - 93rd Edition

This is Part 2 of How To Budget Your Genealogy Money. Part 1 is here.

With your genealogy research plan(s) in hand, and with the realistic total of your overall genealogy budget in mind, now look to see what other genealogists recommend.

Those already savvy in genealogical 'social networking', on-line or off, will have a definite advantage, I'm sure, so you might want to work on those skills - join your local genealogy group! Or if there isn't a group near enough, look into sites like Facebook and Twitter. (Don't forget to include society memberships and any internet expenses in your budget.)

#3. For the geographical area you're interested in or the record types or services, etc., you believe you need and/or want, what do other genealogists recommend? What do they think is the best value for your money (or, in some cases, your time).

Don't enter that credit card number just yet.

Start by using your favourite search engines to look for 'best genealogy' lists and reviews. You might want to create a Google Alert to keep you posted on new on-line articles or comments on something you're looking for. For example: 'online backup reviews'

Look for fuller reviews – especially on genealogy websites and blogs and in magazines and journals, or, if you are looking for a broader service, for backup, for example, look in ‘techy’ websites and publications.

If you're interested in a British or North American genealogy, look in relevant British or North American magazines, but remember genealogists all over the world can have similar interests. Don't restrict yourself to just one area. Your Family Tree, one of the British magazines I read, just published "Computing For Family Historians", a special packaged with Issue 87 which has reviews and great information. (There used to be another British computing and genealogy magazine I liked, so I hope we see this new one again.)

Always check Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter for technology related to genealogy (the free version is good!) and I recommend subscribing to Tara Calishain's Research Buzz e-mail update too. All free!

When you find a review or on-line information about a product or service – ask yourself some hard questions:

- is it written by someone with an affiliate (paying advertisements) or other relationship with the company? Have they declared an interest in the company? Or does the information seem to be written from a press release? (This happens even on otherwise well regarded websites.) Has the reviewer obviously tried out the product or service? Is the review current or is it very dated?

and
- does the review cover the features that you feel matter most to you at this time?

Read recent blog posts or e-mail lists written by people researching your areas. If it's software or a service you're interested in, is there a users' group or specifications or manuals on-line? Check to see if you can participate or read these before purchase.

**Remember to browse or search the Archives of e-mail lists and forums first. Your question may not be as new or as unusual as you think.

Then ask specific questions if you don’t see information. Twitter and Facebook are good for this on-line. Offline, ask in the genealogy and family history groups you meet with. You may find there's an expert in the group, or your questions may spark an invigorating session on 'the best of...' websites or publications. Ask if an expert in your group would hold a session on how to use a website they recommend too. Our BC Genealogical Society just had a well illustrated talk on using the New England Historic Genealogical Society's on-line databases which our Library subscribes to, for instance.

On-line, here are some sites to start out your 'genealogical consumer research' with:

Family Tree Magazine, 101 Best Web Sites 2009: www.familytreemagazine.com/article/101best2009

50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites for 2009. Kory L. Meyerink, MLS, AG, FUGA, ProGenealogists: www.progenealogists.com/top50genealogy2009.htm

40 Best Genealogy Blogs, Family Tree Magazine: www.familytreemagazine.com/article/Fab-Forty

25 Most Popular Genealogy Blogs. Heather Henderson, ProGenealogists: www.progenealogists.com/top25blogs2009.htm

Family History, The 50 best websites The Guardian, 2007: www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/apr/14/guardianspecial4.guardianspecial226

Digital Librarian: www.digital-librarian.com/genealogy.html

Don't forget Cyndi's List: www.cyndislist.com

Sources of news, reviews –

Geneabloggers.com (not only for bloggers): http://geneabloggers.com

Geneablogger's List of genealogy blogs – with a technology theme:
www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogs-type/technology-blogs

One of my most reads - Modern Software Experience, Tamura Jones, GeneAwards 2009 – Best, worst, dishonourable, not-so-special: http://tamurajones.net

GeneaMusings, Randy Seaver – for hands-on genealogy website reviews: www.geneamusings.com

Top Ten Reviews, Genealogy Software: http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com

Digital Inspiration (personal technology): www.labnol.org

And these sites with information on evaluating websites, etc. on the ‘Net –

Criteria for Evaluating Internet Resources by Aleteia Greenwood and Professor Douw Steyn, UBC Library, University of British Columbia: www.library.ubc.ca/home/evaluating

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask, UC Berkeley Library, University of California: www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

And for good measure:

Dick Eastman's posts on various scams related to genealogy: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/scams

Kimberly Powell, About.com, How to Identify & Avoid Genealogy Scams: http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/tp/scams.htm

Domain Tools, domain lookups: http://whois.domaintools.com/

Better Business Bureau of Mainland BC (look for tips, alerts, BBBOnLine): http://mbc.bbb.org/consumers (Look for your own local BBB.)

Guide to Online Security, Consumer Reports: www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/resource-center/cyber-insecurity/cyber-insecurity-hub.htm

This is Part 2 of 3. Part 3 - 'before you pay' - is coming very soon. I'll be very interested in your comments and ideas about genealogy budgeting.

This post was written for the 93rd Carnival of Genealogy! Hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.

How To Budget Your Genealogy $ - Part 1 - Carnival of Genealogy - 93rd Edition

Some of the more frequently asked questions in genealogy sessions I teach are variants of:

How come every index search I try for genealogy on the Internet leads to a page asking for my credit card information? Shouldn't information be free?

and then,

How can I decide what I should pay for? I don't want to pay for something that's free elsewhere or that I won't really use.

So I sometimes include a session focused on these questions.

Lately I've noticed several magazine articles on 'free genealogy' and some forum discussions too, so this seems a timely topic.

I do feel that much of the very best information for genealogy and family history on the Internet has always been free and I am happy to recommend these sources - RootsWeb.com for example, and FamilySearch.org. Then there are the specialized reference websites, like the Canadian Genealogy Centre for Canadian genealogy and family history and Genuki.org.uk for British. Even the standard version of my favourite genealogy software is free to download - Legacy at Legacyfamilytree.com.

Nothing is really altogether 'free' though - after all, someone is paying the expenses involved in gathering information, compiling indexes and databases and programming and maintaining computers and websites. It might be with volunteer donations, it might be government, or it could be a commercial company like Ancestry.com (for RootsWeb) or Millennia Corporation (for Legacy) paying. We need to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts. (Thank you to all the above from me! )

I believe it's important to emphasize that putting information and services on the Internet does cost money. Genealogy and family history societies, for instance, need to generate some income from their indexes and publications, so that new ones can be developed or older ones updated. Individual genealogists too may be paying all the cost themselves - doing it 'for love'. Here's an article by Lorelle on WordPress that outlines the costs for a genealogy blog, for instance, The Blog Budget. (Sometimes you do see a 'donate please' button on an individual or group's genealogy site. Please consider 'clicking' if you found the website or service helpful.)

Even with all volunteer labour, there are always bills to pay. Sometimes, in the heat of discussion, this is forgotten. I do love getting information for free, but I hope I won't ever begrudge paying for services, publications, or access to indexes, etc. that are worthwhile to me.

Here are some of the questions I ask, and some things I consider when choosing how I will spend my ‘on-line genealogy’ dollars to purchase genealogy and family history services, subscriptions, etc.

#1. What kinds of research are you doing right now or planning to do very soon? Consider: geography, time periods, the types of records you need.

Write up a new research plan for each on-going or future project. (Here's an article by Kimberly Powell about genealogy research plans with an example: Think Like a Detective - Developing a Genealogy Research Plan.)

Can you ‘save up’ research to make a short term subscription ‘pay’? This is what I often do for my on-line Swedish research - which still necessitates using pay sites. After all, a subscription is much cheaper than a trip to Sweden. And when I do get there, I'll be visiting the 'right' places and ready to do more research - parts that can't be done on the Internet or at home.

What services or tools do you feel would be helpful to you?

Do you have any time restrictions? Are you preparing for a reunion or a genealogy trip, perhaps, and need or want to do all you can from home first?

How important is convenience to you right now; how much time do you have (and when)? How important is ease of use; and accessibility. If you have time during the week to visit a library or Family History Center, for example, you may be able to use commercial databases there, but if your genealogy time is 'middle of the night', personal subscriptions make sense.

What type of computer, browser, firewall, etc. do you use? How comfortable are you with computers and the Internet? Do you have a technology ‘guru’ of your own? (Some sites require you to use specialized software, for example. More on this later.)

#2. What’s your $ genealogy budget? Be realistic here :-)

Be sure to think about both on-line and off-line genealogy. Do you plan to order a number of English marriage certificates, soon, for instance, or is there a genealogy seminar or conference coming up? Would you like to take a special class in the fall? Or are you determined to have an autosomal DNA test done?

Think about adding in at least a small $ cushion for those unexpected opportunities, maybe that hard to find book that pops up in an e-Bay listing.

You'll notice that I put the $ question second. That's because I feel if you don't have a research plan, and haven't thought about your own research preferences and restrictions, then no matter how many dollars you have, you won't get the best results.

This is Part 1 of 3. Part 2 - how to find genealogical recommendations and reviews - is coming very soon. I'll be very interested in your comments and ideas about genealogy budgeting.

This post was written for the 93rd Carnival of Genealogy! Hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.