101 Photographs among 3 million

101 Photographs is a visual resource compiled from the collection of the Centre for Image Research and Diffusion (CRDI) based in Gerona, Spain.
The photographs stand out for a particular aspect: for its visual content, its aesthetics, its historical relevance, its uniqueness or its exceptional nature as a photographic object.Historical photos,even if they are not from your own collection can inspire stories and memories in your own research or trigger a research strategy you have not thought of before.Enjoy this amazing European collection.

Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland

Family History researchers have access to a brand new resource which is part of the Genealogy Reference Collection at Ivanhoe Library.

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland contains detailed information about the linguistic origins of more than 45,600 common and rare surnames. Each entry also includes how many bearers of the name were recorded on the 1881 and 2011 censuses, as well as its geographical distribution over time.

The creation of the four volume dictionary is the result of a four year project – the largest of its kind ever undertaken, with data sourced from medieval and modern sources such as tax records, church registers and census returns.

Some names have their origins in occupations, for example Webber and Baker. Other names can be linked to place such as Hill or Green.

Knowledge of the origin of surnames helps the family history researcher understand their own story and maps the origins of their ancestors.

Yarra Plenty Regional Library is the first Australian organisation to order this landmark reference tool from Oxford University Press.

Check these other resources to explore the origins of your surname and learn more via this video from the University of West Bristol England who were a partner on the project.

Meet Cedric at State Library Victoria

Have you explored the digitised collections at State Library Victoria?  A number of collections have been curated and can be explored via the Cedric link  here.

Collections include:

Melbourne Street Directories 1912-152
Victorian Groundwater records
Journal of commerce of Victoria and Melbourne
Mufti 1934-2000
Football Record
Victorian Historical Journal 1911-2012
Records of Coles Myer
Australasian decorator & Painter 1905-1924
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria
World War 1 unit histories
The Traveller 1895-1924

Search the online catalogue for more.

Image: Man in dust coat replacing armful of books onto shelves. Source: State Library Victoria via The Age 1954

New titles for Family History

The following new titles have been added to the collection at Yarra Plenty Regional Library -  just in time for the lead up of our Region wide program for National Family History Month in August.

Getting Started

Family First

The Family History Web Directory

Australia

People Arriving in Australia, 1788-1828

The Forgotten Australians

Treasures in Australian Government Gazettes

Making A Home: A History of Castlemaine

The ANZAC Hospital No. 1 at Harefield and the Australians Who Died There and Eleswhere but Who Are Buried at Harefield 1914-1918

The Song of the Transports Or, the Eternal Unrest Or, Grey Wings Through Grey Skies

Great Britain

Tracing your Leeds Ancestors

Tracing your Birmingham Ancestors

Tracing your Ancestors' Parish Records

Tracing your Trade and Craftsmen Ancestors

Tracing your Great War Ancestors (Somme)

Tracing your Great War Ancestors (Ypres)

Tracing your Great War Ancestors (Gallipoli)

Tracing your Seafaring Ancestors

Servants' Stories

Tracing your Edinburgh Ancestors

Tracing your Northern Irish Ancestors

The Family Tree Polish, Czech & Slovak Genealogy Guide

Software

Getting the Most From Family Historian6

DVD Review: Birdsong

Beautifully and accurately filmed, Birdsong moves slowly but powerfully and gradually draws you in.  This UK production is a nice change from the usual fast faced, action packed war dramas with a terrific supporting cast, costumes and sets.

The book became a classic after it was published in 1993.  This first interpretation of it on film as a television mini series was released in 2012. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne is superb in this war drama that mixes between his life and love affair in France before the war and his experience as an Officer on the Somme battlefields.

I first learned of Sebastian Faulk’s Birdsong when a family history researcher I had been collaborating with alerted me to it.  My Great Grandfather’s brother had been a tunneller in World War One.  He had enlisted in his 40’s following time spent on the Western Australian goldfields.  The author’s description of the tunnellers work and environment portrays conveys to me what the tunnellers had to go through, the mini- series also depicts this well.  I could not help but think about my Grand Uncle while I watched this depiction and marvel that he at least physically survived the horrors of the trenches, tunnels and battlefields of war.

Microfilm

Microfilm resources held at the library have now been consolidated and can be accessed at Mill Park Library in the J. W. Payne Room for local and family history research.

Resources include:

The Heidelberg News and Greensborough, Eltham and Diamond Creek Chronicle

The Evelyn Observer

Kilmore Advertiser 1874 - 1877

Illustrated Sydney News1864-1869

Some of the above titles are available for restricted time periods on Trove.

Port Phillip Census Households Returns

Berrima to Goulburn NSW 1841 census

City of Whittlesea Rate books 1884 – 1922

Various Council documents from the Shire of Epping, City of Whittlesea, Epping Roads Board 

Victorian Crown Grantees Index

A new resource to the genealogy collection is the AIGS CD Victorian Crown Grantees Index (Part 2) 1838 to the present day. A searchable database of approximately 148,00 names and dates from 700 parishes can be searched. The Parishes listed are included on the AIGS website.
Holds for this CD can be placed via the catalogue.

Victorian Historical Indexes

Additional loan copies of the Victorian historical indexes on CD-Rom have been added to the collection. Holds for the following can be placed via the online catalogue from our website.

Pioneer Index 1836-1888

Federation Index 1889-1901

Death Index 1921-1985

New items at Ivanhoe

New items in the genealogy collection include:

CD-Roms
Ballarat Petitions 1860-1866

South Australian deaths 1842-1915

South Australia Pre-Civil Registration marriages
South Australia Pre-Civil Registration births
South Australia Pre-Civil Registration deaths

Bound for South Australia - births and deaths on government assisted immigrant ships 1848-1885

Books
Local Census Listings
Netting your ancestors : tracing family history on the internet by Stuart A. Raymond
The Genealogist's internet: the bestselling guide by Peter Christian (3rd expanded edition)

You may place a hold on the catalogue and collect at your branch library of choice.

New items to the collection

The following items have been recently added to the genealogy collection:

Books:
Making use of the census by Susan Lamas.

This book refers to the UK census and is an excellent tool to use when looking at the census on the Ancestry database (available at all branches).

Tracing your Irish ancestors: the complete guide by John Grenham 3rd edition
A major reference for researching your Irish family history

CD-Roms
South Australian Births 1907-1928
Baltic medal Roll 1854-1855

Microfiche (available at Ivanhoe library)
Index to Aliens 1914-1918
Listing of people mentioned in the Index and registers of Victoria Police correspondence, covering foreign born people who were obliged to register under the Aliens Act. The listing also includes people who wrote complaints about Aliens, or report suspicious happennings. The index includes a location and nationality cross reference.

Are you researching Victorian Volunteer Force personnel?

Researchers can now access an index to Victorian Volunteer Force personnel for the period 1860-61.

The index was compiled by Thomas Corfmat from information in Victorian Review: A journal of the Volunteer Forces and Civil Service, Bankers and Insurance Record, and Literary Gazette, 1860-61. It provides the name, rank, regiment and company for over 4,300 members of the various volunteer defence forces in Victoria. It is a valuable research aid, as volunteer force service records for the years 1860-61 simply do not exist (records from 1863 onward are held by the National Archives of Australia).

The index is available in microfiche format and can be accessed at Ivanhoe and Diamond Valley libraries.