July Book Review
Every month our newsletter editorial staff will be reviewing one of the books from our
Genealogy Book Store.
If you are interested in having us review a specific book in an upcoming edition please
contact our editorial staff.
This month we are reviewing "Digitizing Your Family History" by Rhonda R. McClure.
 Rhonda McClure wrote her book based on two premises:
Her first premise is that family historians fully understand the value of preserving precious family documents such as diaries, photographs,
and Bible pages. We agree with this premise fully. Anything you have on paper will be gone in a few hundred years at best. Digital is the
way to go. Digital is forever.
Her second premise is that "most" family historians have little or no knowledge of the technology needed to safely preserve those items.
In that regard we only partially agree with her. While there is some truth to her argument, we are finding that every year genealogists
are becoming more technically sound. We will agree that "many" family historians could benefit from learning more about technology -
but "most" doesn't apply in 2007.
Her book aims to help the family historian understand this technology. It discusses topics such as: Using a scanner to save digital versions
of images, using a digital camera, and cleaning up old photos through electronic editing. She does a good job explaining how to preserve
your records digitally and has some interesting ideas.
There seems to be two sets of opinions about this book. Some readers seemed to have found it insulting as it assumes they know nothing about
any of the items she discusses, others rave about the book and say it is a Godsend that has transformed their genealogy work.
What it comes down to is this: If you already fully understand digital imaging and are looking to further your knowledge - then this book
is not for you. You are best to look elsewhere for a more intermediate level book.
However, if you're in the group of people who are relatively new to technology - or even a little scared by it - then this book is for you.
It will help you become acquainted with some wonderful tools that will change your work forever.
Rhonda McClure will take you through how to use these tools and make you totally comfortable with the experience. Once you're finished
with the book, your eyes will be opened to a brand new world. For that reason this book is our Editor's Choice for July 2007.
For more information on "Digitizing Your Family History" by Rhonda R. McClure, please visit our
bookstore.
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