We Still Need Family History Centers!

We still need Family History Centers!

One of the most frequent comments I get concerning genealogy is this,

"Do we really need Family History Centers anymore?"

A resounding Yes!!!

I believe we do.  

Let me show you one of the reasons why.

Right now, I am in the middle of preparing to go to RootsTech2016.

I am taking several hundred photos to run through scanners that will quickly upload the photos to my computer.

I saw these in action last year, and I knew this would be one way to conquer the mountain of photos that are making me feel quite guilty.

This photo is from a previous post showing how I will scan them, several at a time.

But...

not everyone is going to RootsTech.

Or to the Harold B. Lee Library in Provo, where they have high-speed scanners, too.

They may not belong to a warehouse club, or have one near to them.

Or, they may not even have a scanner at home.

They may not even be able to afford a scanner.

All is not lost!

After a recent conversation with Pat Richley-Erickson, she asked if I would write a blog post about scanners that are available in most of the Family History Centers that I have seen.

This Lexmark scanner is available in our local Family History Center in Mansfield, Ohio.

It is an amazing machine that all of our computers print from.

And, patrons can scan on it, too!

And, this is a stack of photos I brought out to show how easy it is to use.

Notice that they are in a mess.

Excuse me.  You know you have one, too.

The sign-in screen shows two icons that you may tap on for your work.

Copy = making a regular copy of something that is printed off

Scan to FamilySearch = your photos, documents, etc. are scanned directly to your FamilySearch account.

That's right! 

Directly to your FamilySearch account.

You will be asked to enter your Username and Password, 

just like when you sign into FamilySearch online.

Hint:  The screen size is similar to that of a small tablet.

If you have trouble, bring a stylus with a rubber ball on the end,

or simply use a pencil eraser.

Click the one you want.

For this purpose, I clicked on "Photo".

The directions couldn't be more clear.

Wait just a few moments.

It let's you know when the scan is complete.

And, look!!

It joins all of the other photos I have scanned into my account.

Off to the left, you will see a list that I didn't take take a photo of.

It is simply a list of albums that I can drop those photos right into.

Now, this may not seem like that big of a deal when there are many different ways to scan photos and upload them to different websites.

But, it is a big deal if you don't have a scanner.

Or don't have a Big-Box store nearby.

Here is a similar article from the FamilySearch Blog:

Upload Documents