FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject County Histories

Current ProjectsLocal County Histories

Purpose
Adding online digitized county books to Local County Histories heading on the county pages

Task List
Task List

Instructions
We will be checking several online sources to find any county histories that are digital and online. This includes, FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Hathitrust. To simplify the process, it is broken into 5 separate parts. You must do them in order.

Part A - Review List on County Page
1. Go to the county you are working on and see if there is already a list of local histories listed under the heading.

2. If there are books listed with links to digital images, go to Part B, Step 2 below to reformat the links to match the instructions.

3. If there is not a link to a digital image of the book, start with Part B and slowly go through each website to see if an online version can be located. Then, use the instructions in Part B, Step 2 to format the links to match the instructions.

WARNING: If at any time the list for online books becomes too large, please feel free to decide what should be included and what should not. Local histories created before 1900 and shortly thereafter are excellent to keep because they can contain biographies of local residents and early settlers. Focus on those early county histories first.

Step 1: Finding Online Digital County Histories in FamilySearch Catalog
1. Go to FamilySearch Catalog

2. Type in county name you are working on in the place field.

3. Go to Histories topic. If you typed in Adams Nebraska (do not use the word county), the correct link would be: United States, Nebraska, Adams - History

4. Click on the first record listed. NOTE: avoid any journal articles and city directories. We are going to focus only on county history books.

5. Read the description to see if a copy of the book is available on FamilySearch. You will see a red link under Notes, the book is online at FamilySearch.


 * If there is a red link: Go to Step 2.


 * If there is no red link listed, go to Part B to see if the online version of the book is on other websites. NOTE: if no online version is located on any other website, skip the book and go to the next one listed in the FS Catalog.

Step 2: Enter digitized books in bullet list under Local Histories heading
1. If there is a red link to a digitized version of the book, you will enter the book using the following instructions.

2.'''You can go to a sandbox page or directly edit to the county page. Because others maybe adding other content on county pages, we suggest working in one of your sandbox pages.'''

3. Refer to the catalog entry for the book and use the following format to enter the information about the book on your sandbox page:
 * a. (A bullet should be added to the beginning of each book citation)
 * b. Title of book in italics
 * c. Year of publication
 * d. Add the word “By” and then put the author’s full name, starting with first name
 * e. Add publication information, using the following: publication location, followed by colon, publisher.
 * f. Add the words "Online at:" at the end following the publisher.

Example:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:

Wikitext example:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:

Words of guidance:
 * Capitalize the complete title even though it is not in the catalog
 * If the title is really long, just give the first portion of the title and leave off the rest.
 * If there is ever information missing use the following guidelines:
 * Missing author: leave it blank and move on to the publisher information.
 * Missing publication date: use n.d.
 * Missing publication place: use n.p.
 * Missing publisher: use n.p.

Example of no author, no date of publication, no place of publication, and no publisher information:
 * Niobrara Centennial 1856-1956. N.d. N.p: n.p.

Step 3: Add FS link to reference entry
After creating the book entry reference, we need to link it to the digital image. Do the following steps.

1. Return to the book entry in the FamilySearch catalog and click on the red link opening the digitized book in a new browser. Look for the IE number in the URL of the book. For example, the IE number is 926835 in this URL:
 * https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE926835

2. In wikitext, add the following template putting the IE number of your digitized book after the first pipe (|). The IE number from above has been added in this example:

3. Paste the completed template after, "Online at:" at the end of the book citation. Example:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:

Example in wikitext:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:

4. You are now ready to look for this digital book on other websites.

Part C - Other Websites with Digital Books
'In Part B, we will be looking for the books mentioned in the FamilySearch Catalog on other websites containing digital books. The goal is to have 3 links to websites with the online version of the book.'

Please note: If the online version of the book was not on FamilySearch but you find an online version on another website, go back to Step 2 to create the book entry. Then, return to this section to create the links to the online version of the book.

1. To find other locations the book may be located, open another tab in your Internet browser and Google the title of the book using quotation marks around the title. This allows you to do an exact search for the title.

2. Review the results list and review each entry. We will limit the amount of links to 3 including FamilySearch. The priority list is the following:
 * FamilySearch
 * Hathitrust (Hathitrust.org)
 * Internet Archive (Archive.org)
 * Google Books (books.google.com)
 * Ancestry (Ancestry.com)

Hathitrust
1. If you find an entry for the book on Hathitrust on the results list, click on the link. Then, look for "Full View" under "Viewability" and click on the link. This will open the url for the book.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * [URL Hathitrust]

3. If there is already a link to FamilySearch for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Hathitrust]

4. Go back to the Hathitrust website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

5. Go back to the Google results list and see if any other books are on the list until you have 3 links.

Internet Archive
1. If you find a result for an entry for the book on Internet Archive (archive.org), click on the link. This will open the url for the book.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * [URL Internet Archive]

3. If there is already a link for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Internet Archive]

4. Go back to the Internet Archive website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

5. Go back to the Google results list and see if any other books are on the list until you have 3 links. If this is the 3rd link, go to Step C below.

Google Books
1. If you find a result for an entry for the book on Google books, click on the link. This will open the url for the book. If the book is really available online, it will have a red button that says, E-book Free in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. If that button is not there, it is not available on Google books and you can go to the next result on the list.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * Online at: [URL Google Books]

3. If there is already a link for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Google Books]

4. Go back to the Google Books website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

5. Go back to the Google results list and see if any other books are on the list until you have 3 links. If this is the 3rd link, go to Step C below.

Learnwebskills website
1. Before we check Ancestry (which requires a log in for the user to see the book), double check this website to make sure you found all the possible county books that are available online to free websites.

2. Go to the Learnwebskills website and click on the state you are working on.

3. Review the list to see if any additional books need to be added for your specific county. We will not be listing any of the histories for just the state - only county histories.

4. If you find an additional website that lists the county history, use the directions to create the url using directions under Google books. Replace Google Books with the name of the website.

Ancestry
1. If you find a result for an entry for the book on Ancestry, click on the link. This will open the url for the book.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * [URL Ancestry ($)],

3. If there is already a link for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Ancestry ($)],

4. Go back to the Ancestry website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

NOTE: There may be some links for the online books on other websites. We would like to put these websites first as they are large websites and more reliable. If you only have 1 or 2 links and the above websites don't have the book, feel free to adjust the instructions above and add them to the book entry.

Example of book entry containing links to websites for online images of books:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($).

Example in wikitext:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($)

Part D - Add WorldCat Link
In this step we are adding a link to WorldCat so individuals can find out more about the book and any libraries that may have a physical copy of the book. Use the instructions below.

1. Go back to your sandbox page and copy and paste the following wikitext and add it directly behind the last online link in the book entry:

2. Go back to the tab for the FS Catalog entry of the book and locate the link, “View this catalog record in WorldCat for other possible copy locations.

3. Locate the ID number in the URL of the book. In the following URL, the ID number is 865598422. Example WorldCat URL:
 * http://www.worldcat.org/title/biographical-and-historical-memoirs-of-adams-clay-hall-and-hamilton-counties-nebraska-comprising-of-a-condensed-history-of-the-state-a-number-of-biographies-of-distinguished-citizens-of-the-same-a-brief-descriptive-history-of-each-of-the-counties-mentioned-and-numerous-biographical-sketches-of-the-citizens-of-such-counties/oclc/865598422

4. Copy and paste the ID number in the URL in the book entry replacing "ID#" after the first pipe in the template. Example:

Example of complete book entry:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.

Example in wikitext:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.

5. You can add any comments about the book you think is necessary after the worldcat link and end the entry with a period. Example:
 * Ye Kingdome of Accawmacke or the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. 1911. By Jennings Cropper Wise. Richmond, Va.: Bell Book and Stationery Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Google Books; . This is a reprint of the 1899 original book.

Step E - Remove: Online County Histories subheading
1. Previously in this project we only added the subheading, Online County Histories. We have since expanded this project to include all major local histories. After you have fixed your list of country histories, remove Online County Histories if it is on the page. If it is not a heading on the page, skip this step.

Step F - Save the book entry on the county page
1. Once the book entry is complete, copy and paste the entry into the county page in the correct location under the heading, Local Histories. If there are other book entries already under the heading, add your book entry into the list in alphabetical order.

2. Add in the edit summary at the bottom of the page, added online local history book and save the page.

3. Check your entry to see if it looks correct and the links work.

4. Once you are done, return to the FamilySearch catalog and go to the next book listed. If there are no more books, go to the next county and start the process again.

REMEMBER:
 * Each book should be its own bullet.
 * Books/sources should be listed in alphabetical order by title on the county page
 * Online versions of the books should be separated by commas
 * A semi-colon should be used after the last book link and before the WorldCat entry.
 * “Online at:” should be used to indicate copies of digital versions online.
 * Link to at least 3 digital versions of the book if possible.
 * If the digital image is not free, include a “($)” after the link.

Example
For an example of what this heading should look like when it is complete, click here.