Help:Creating a Catalog for a FamilySearch Center

Catalog of FamilySearch Center Materials
To assist your patrons using your FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch center Wiki page. Below are instructions and examples to help guide you through the process. Wiki pages that are devoted to a list of catalog books or microfilms for a center is against Wiki policies and is outside of the scope of the Wiki. All center pages with these catalog Wiki pages will be taken down after center personnel are contacted.

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 FSC.
 * 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 If the work is unpublished, an estimated date may be used, indicated in brackets followed by a question mark, e.g., [1971?]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 FSC 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 FSC Wiki page.


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

Adding the PDF to your FSC Wiki Page
Below are instructions for adding the link to your catalog on your FSC 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 FSC Catalog.pdf", replace titelofPDFfile.pdf with "Warren FSC 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 FamilySearch Center Wiki page
Here are some examples of how you can highlight your FSC catalog on your Wiki page:

Center Resources

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