Help:Creating a Catalog for a FamilySearch Center

Catalog of Family History Center Materials
To assist your patrons using your family history center, you may wish to create a catalog of your books, microfilm, and other materials. You can then provide a link to the PDF copy of your catalog onto your family history center Wiki page. Below are instructions and examples to help guide you through the process.

Printable Instructions

 * Printable Instructions

Step 1: Create a Catalog

 * Start by creating a document in a Word document or Excel. You can review the examples below to decide how you want it to look.
 * Every resource should have it's own line or row for each resource.
 * You may divide the document into two sections: one for books and for films/fiche.
 * Example of Word Document Catalog
 * Example of Excel Document Catalog

Step 2: Gathering Bibliographic Information
The following are suggested columns of information to gather on each resource in your fhc.
 * Title. List the title from the title page on the inside of the book, rather than the front cover. If only a cover title is provided, list it.
 * Author(s) or compiler(s). Names of people or societies can usually be found on the first few pages. Some may be listed at the back of the source.
 * If you cannot find an author or compiler, leave it blank or mark "unknown."


 * Year. List the publication/compilation year and edition, if given. If the work is unpublished, an estimated date may be used, indicated in brackets followed by a question mark, e.g., [1971?]
 * If a year is not present or cannot be determined, leave it blank or mark "unknown."

Additional Columns of Catalog:
 * Call number label or shelf location. If your FHC uses a system to indicate the location of an item, it will be useful to list it.
 * Notes. This may include surnames, localities, a summary, language, or any other pertinent information.

Microfilm/Microfiche Collection
The microfilm location will no longer be available in the FamilySearch Catalog. If you would like to keep track of your microfilm/microfiche, you will need to create an additional list for your catalog.
 * Film/Fiche Number. This can be found on the box or envelope.
 * Material Type. List the type of film or fiche, e.g., 16mm film, 35mm film, number of fiche parts.
 * Notes. At this time, you may do a search in the FamilySearch catalog for your film/fiche if you would like to include more information on the items.

Step 3: Add Catalog List to the Wiki

 * Step 1: Once the catalog document or spreadsheet is complete, save it as a PDF.
 * How to create a PDF: Using Microsoft Word or Using Microsoft Excel


 * Step 2: Submit your PDF to be uploaded to the Wiki by attaching the PDF to an email and sending it to: [mailto:wikisupport@FamilySearch.org wikisupport@FamilySearch.org]
 * You will receive an email when the PDF is uploaded and available for you to add to your FHC Wiki page.


 * Step 3: To add a link to the PDF file on your FHC Wiki page, use these directions:

Adding the PDF to your FHC Wiki Page
Below are instructions for adding the link to your catalog on your FHC Wiki page:
 * Determine where you would like your link to reside on the page.
 * Use the following wikitext code:

[[MEDIA:titleofPDFfile.pdf Center Catalog]]
 * Replace the titleofPDFfile.pdf with the name of the PDF File. If the name of the PDF file is "File:Warren FHC Catalog.pdf", replace titelofPDFfile.pdf with "Warren FHC Catalog.pdf".
 * You can change what the link displays by leaving a space and then adding text before the ]]

Additional Information

 * You can submit an updated PDF file at anytime by using the email: [mailto:wikisupport@FamilySearch.org wikisupport@FamilySearch.org]

Searching the FHC Catalog

 * With the PDF open, you can search the catalog by using CTRL+F for a keyword.

Documents

 * Instructions for creating a Catalog
 * Example of Word Document Catalog
 * Example of Excel Document Catalog

Examples of a Family History Center Wiki page
Here are some examples of how you can highlight your FHC catalog on your Wiki page:

Center Resources

 * [[MEDIA:Excel Example FHC wiki catalog.pdf|Warren Ohio Family History Center Catalog]] - list of resources at our family history center