Book stack where genealogy books can be found (photo by John Faulkner)
John Faulkner
This is a continuation of spotlighting areas of the SaddleBrooke Library system you may not be aware of. Our three-library system has a lot to offer residents of SaddleBrooke and is supported financially by Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries. Through your membership and donations, the libraries can offer residents a wide range of books, DVDs, audiobooks, and magazines. If you have not already joined, please go to sbfsl.org/become-a-member for more information on the benefits of becoming a Friend of SaddleBrooke Libraries.
Have you ever wondered what your family tree looks like? I met recently with Sharon Scanlan, DesertView Library manager, and Patty Burke, a longtime volunteer at the SaddleBrooke One Library and a member of the local Genealogy Club. They gave me some historical information and ideas about how the library’s Genealogy Collection could start you on that long trip to learn about your own family tree.
The Genealogy Collection at DesertView began in 2016. The Genealogy Club had its own library of books and realized that their club would get more exposure if the books were donated to the SaddleBrooke Libraries. Thus, the Genealogy Collection was started. The Genealogy Club still has its own library, which is available to its membership.
The actual collection is located right in front of DesertView Library, just to the right of where you go to check out your books.
If you want to get started finding out about genealogy, both Sharon and Patty recommended two books to pique your interest and get you started on your investigation into Genealogy:
The Seven Daughters of Eve, by Bryan Sykes
In 1994 Bryan Sykes was called in as an expert to examine the frozen remains of a man trapped in glacial ice in Northern Italy for more than 5,000 years—he was called the Iceman. Sykes succeeded in extracting DNA from the Iceman, but “even more important,” writes Science News, was his “ability to directly link that DNA to Europeans living today.” In this groundbreaking book, Sykes reveals how the identification of a particular strand of DNA that passes unbroken through the maternal line allows scientists to trace our genetic makeup back to prehistoric times—to seven primeval women known as the “seven daughters of Eve.”
Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas, by Jennifer Raff
Origin is the story of the first peoples in the Americas, how and why they made the crossing, how they dispersed south, and how they lived, based on a new and powerful kind of evidence: their complete genomes. Origin provides an overview of these new histories throughout North and South America and a glimpse into how the tools of genetics reveal details about human history and evolution.
It serves as a primer for anyone interested in how genetics has become entangled with identity in the way that society addresses the question, “Who is indigenous?”
So, come into DesertView Library and check out the Genealogy Collection. If your interest is piqued and you want to know more about the Genealogy Club, go to sites.google.com/view/saddlebrookeazgenealogyclub or just do a Google search for SaddleBrooke Genealogy Club.
The Genealogy Collection is just another of the many benefits of using the SaddleBrooke Libraries and helps us answer the question #How Do You Like Us Now? Take advantage of our three-library system and consider joining Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries to support the ongoing purchase of new books, DVDs, audiobooks, and magazines.