BREAKING NEWS from The Genealogy Library Center, Inc., 3 Feb 2014
September 01, 2006: A Major New Genealogy Library Announced
(Dick Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter)
When was the last time that you read about the formation of a major new genealogy library? That is, a full-fledged genealogy library with more than 70,000 books and more than 10,000 CD-ROM disks, all related to family history? The brand-new Conner-Bishop Historical Resource Center will be exactly that. The Center is being established in the Portland, Oregon, area to honor the memory of Eloise Connor Bishop and Charles Kay Bishop. The focus will be on materials to assist family history researchers and to “add meat to the skeletons” in their family histories.
Thanks to the generosity of Ruth Bishop and several others, the new Conner-Bishop Historical Resource Center already has been able to acquire more than 70,000 family history books including:
- The former circulating library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), formerly housed in the Boston area and circulated by mail to NEHGS members worldwide.
- Richardson Dougall’s collection of European History, formerly housed at the National Genealogical Society (NGS) library in Arlington, Virginia.
- The NGS Hall of Fame Collection as well as duplicate copies from the NGS General Collection, formerly housed in Arlington, Virginia.
- A large collection of Civil War and Americana books donated by Ruth Bishop.
- From William R. and Kaleen E. Beall, a large collection of Automotive History, Biography, Entertainment, and Medieval books, plus the Beall Family Library collections.
- Stanley R. Clarke’s British, Oregon, and General collections.
- The Dean H. Byrd and Janice M. Healy Oregon Burial Site Guide Collection, including all photos and maps used for producing the book.
Other collections are also being donated through wills and trusts, and the members of the Board of Directors are currently purchasing even more materials to add to the general research collections.
The Conner-Bishop Historical Resource Center is not yet open for business. There are a few “minor items” to be completed: finding a location, purchasing a mile or so of shelving plus furniture and computers, and hiring staff. These will be happening in the coming months. I hope to write occasional reports of the progress and to describe the opening ceremonies in the near future.
Even with these extensive resources already obtained, the Conner-Bishop Historical Resource Center needs many more books. Donations of books and of funds to purchase books are solicited. The new Resource Center has applied for status as a 501c3 educational organization and expects to be accepted. As soon as the 501c3 status is obtained, all donations will be tax deductible for U.S. taxpayers.
Contact Arlene Eakle, 56 West Main Street, PO Box 129, Tremonton UT 84337-0129 or arlene@arleneeakle.com with donations or pledges
Breaking News! from The Genealogy Library Center, Inc. 3 Feb 2014:
The Conner-Bishop Historical Resource Center of Portland Oregon has completed the transfer of the genealogical portions of their massive collection to The Genealogy Library Center, Inc. of Tremonton, Utah. Six 53-foot semi-trucks delivered history and genealogy books, maps and atlases, microfilmed census and Revolutionary War pension files, printed records and books on microfiche—over 70,000 items on shrink-wrapped pallets. One truck per day. With trucks #5 and #6 containing library shelving—white, green, gray, tan, and brown.
Janice Healey, Corporate Secretary of the Resource Center oversaw the loading and shipping in Oregon. And a combination of paid workers and volunteers unloaded the pallets and shelving into our more than 10,000 square-foot library building. Our building is still being renovated, so we left space along the walls and under ceiling segments where work is on-going.
WHEW! Such excitement, Tremonton downtown has not seen for a long time! Unloading on a sheer ice driveway made it necessary to unload all of truck #5 on the sidewalk in front of the building. The forklift could not get traction on the ice. One volunteer family of father, mother, and 6 boys (who are home-schooled), helped to carry and haul boxes of books and piles of shelving for some 6 hours. And Kevin Jackson removed the ice from the driveway single-handed, with pick and shovel so that truck #6 could be unloaded through the back bay by forklift.
Please watch this blog for more information on the collections listed in Dick Eastman’s 2006 newsletter, quoted above, and details on when the collections will be ready for public use. Our projected date of opening this section of our Library Center is February 2015. A Preliminary Inventory of specific books and record titles you can expect to find on our shelves will be posted soon on my homepage http://arleneeakle.com Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle
PS Check my Virginia Blog for the announcement of a new collection of printed source records for the American South received just before Thanksgiving–a significant addition for Southern U.S. genealogy.