Pay it Forward

How  many of us pay it forward where genealogy is concerned? This past week and this coming week I have been volunteering my time updating the local genealogical library of the society that I belong to. Not only am I the editor of the Newsletter, administrator of the website and of their Facebook page and 2nd Vice President of the society but now I am updating the library foyer and two bathrooms.

I have been painting, reorganizing, tearing out carpet, stripping the glue that was used to hold down the carpet, laying new carpet tiles and floor tiles (since there was carpet in the bathrooms. I even swapped out the gold dated light fixtures. Plus since I am reorganizing the foyer, I am moving some items into the Library, therefore I am reorganizing some areas of the library.

Before the foyer was a little clutter and wasn't very welcoming. It looked more like a thrift store than a library entrance. I plan on bringing a small reading area to the foyer, add some low bookshelves for the overflow of pamphlets and other reading material we have. A lot are located in the window sills and just make the library look a little messing. Now don't get me wrong, the library was doing good considering most of the members are quite elderly. Since I am not that old, turning 50 this week, I thought I could share my talents and skills.

I repainted the boards that the computers sit on and changed out some of the file cabinets that were holding up the boards. I moved the photocopy machine and some tall bookshelves so that I could move the one microfilm/microfiche reader to a back corner where it is a little darker and easier to view the screen.

I am hoping the other members will think the changes have improved the appearance of the library. I am even rehanging many of the pictures and plaques so the items are of importance actually get seen.
The main reason for all these updates is so that visitors to our library will want to join our little society. Since I volunteer one day at the library, I was hearing some people comments as they came into the library. They thought they were entering through a back door or through our office because it was so cluttered and unorganized.

So hopefully I can wrap everything up this week, take pictures for the newsletter and get back to my genealogy projects, such as scanning all the items I brought back from my visit to Wisconsin.

So I hope everyone "Pays it Forward" with genealogy this month and consider it a birthday present to me. 😆