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Gifts For That Special Genealogist

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By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: November 23, 2008

Planning to start your holiday gift-shopping this week? If you have a genealogist to buy for, here's my gift to you: my annual Santa List, with something in every price range.

Hardware: Trying to research these days without decent electronics is like trying to drive I-275 with a horse and buggy. If your family historian doesn't have a scanner and digital camera, both are excellent choices. I'm a big fan of the Canon CanoScan CS4400F because it fits neatly in a case with my laptop. When visiting far-flung family, it's a cinch to copy their old photographs and even pages from the family Bible without ever leaving their sofa. At the library it saves having to pay for copies.

Software: Having genealogy software won't help you locate any missing links and it won't make you a better researcher, but it certainly can help with organization. My favorite when I was a PC user was RootsMagic. Buy it at www.rootsmagic.com for $29.95 or for $39.95 with a book. The most popular software among Mac users is Reunion. It's $99 at www .leisterpro.com.

Books: Genealogists can't get enough books, but since you probably don't know what they already have, try a gift certificate.

My favorite bookstore is Maia's at maiasbooks.com. She specializes in social history and what she calls "conversation starters," and offers gift certificates from $5 to $200.

Heritage Books, www .heritagebooks.com, is a great specialty store with gift certificates from $10 to $100. Heritage is best known for its wide variety of area histories and record abstracts.

Database Subscriptions: Gifts that will be enjoyed for a full year include subscriptions to databases such as the following:

•Ancestry, www.ancestry .com, costs $155.40 for the U.S. database; $299.40 for world.

•Footnote, www.footnote .com, is $69.95

•World Vital Records, www.worldvitalrecords.com/select_membership.aspx, is $38.96 for the U.S. collection and $119.40 for the world.

Society Membership: How about giving your loved one a bunch of like-minded new friends? Monthly meetings offer interesting programs, and mixing with other researchers is a great way to pick up tips. The Bay area has several groups. Here are their Web sites and annual membership dues:

•Florida Genealogical Society/Tampa: fgstampa.org, $20

•Imperial Polk Genealogical Society: www.ipgs.org/memb form.html, $15

•Manasota Genealogical Society: www.rootsweb.ances try.com/~flmgs/MGSmember shipApp.pdf, $15. This group meets in Bradenton.

•Pasco County Genealogical Society: www.rootsweb .ancestry.com/~flpcgs/Mem berInfo.html, $15

•Pinellas Genealogy Society: www.rootsweb.ancestry .com/~flpgs/membform.html, $17

•South Bay Genealogical Society: www.rootsweb.ances try.com/~flsbgs/member shipregistration.htm, $20.

Educational Gifts: There may be no better gift than that of learning. While local seminars offer good educational opportunities, they can't compare to a week's immersion at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University, Birmingham. Registration for the June 14-19 session opens in January. Why not go to www.samford.edu/schools/ighr, print out the registration form and put it in a gift box along with the $425 registration cost?

Fun T-Shirts: Visit the Cafe Press at www.cafepress.com/jmkbooks/286787645 for a good selection of tees with sayings such as "Genealogy Brick Wall Association - Never Give Up" or "Gedcom Joe's Genealogy Bar."

Manasota Meeting

Alex Morris of the Sarasota Genealogical Society will present "The Most Important Moment in American History - George Washington's Resignation from the Army" at the Manasota Genealogical Society's meeting from 9:30 a.m. till noon Dec. 2.

The group meets in the auditorium of the Manatee County Central Library, 1301 Barcarrota Blvd. W., Bradenton. There is no charge to attend.

Sharon Tate Moody is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of Getaway, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa, FL 33606 or wmoody3@tampabay .rr.com. She re

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