I've lived in New Jersey for more than 40 years, but I'll never be a real New Jersey girl. I grew up in Pennsylvania where there was lots of snow, one traffic light in town, and 90 kids in my grade--from kindergarten through graduation. I didn't know anything about The Shore, or baked ziti, or Chanukah until I came to Jersey. But, I've come to love all of that and much more--especially the history. I now know about the Jersey Dutch, strawberry baskets, railroad suburbs, the bridge that saved a nation, and so much more. I've learned that to tell the local stories about regular people I need to read wills, estate files, census records, pension applications, letters, tombstones, newspapers, and anything else I can find. So, that's some of what I want to share with you!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

What am I willing to give up for convenience?

This has been on my mind for some time.  What am I willing to give up (in the long run) for saving money (in the short run)?  I'm as cheap as they come.  I grew up that way and haven't changed much.  But lately I've been thinking--if I buy a screwdriver or a garbage can at Home Depot or Lowes, how does that impact my local hardware store.  I actually don't live near one anymore.  But, what is better than a real hardware store with real help?  If I only seek them out when I need a special kind of screw or help figuring out what indeed I do need, will they still be there next time? 

More to the point of being a genealogist,  if I buy my books online what happens to my neighborhood bookstore?  Or even, what happens to my "neighborhood" Barnes and Noble? 

But sometimes, I need to buy my books online--I can't find them otherwise.  If I buy my my new and used genealogy books online at amazon.com, what happens to the online genealogy bookstore?  As genealogists, we should consider patronizing online genealogy book-sellers, such as genealogical.com (Genealogical Publishing Company and Clearfield Company), Colonial Roots, and Heritage Books.  They seek out and publish and categorize the books we need.

And, by the way, let's also patronize libraries.  They need our business, too, to remain competitive in this fast-changing world.  (Yes, libraries are competitive; they have to vie for tax money and donations, both of which are in short supply.)

Enjoy books, and support the organizations and businesses that give you value added to your purchase.

Sources:

Find independent bookstores near you with indiebound. It's green to shop locally and supports the local economy as well as encouraging your bookseller to stay in business.

There are socially-conscious online booksellers, some with very good prices.  I've used Better World Books for purchases and find their prices good and their shipping fast.  They donate some of their profits to literacy projects around the world.  See this blog at Socialbrite for more ideas for socially conscious online bookstores.

To see all the online booksellers for a used book go to addall.com, click on the "used" tab, and search.  Click on "No print-on-demand results".  (Even at that some of the "booksellers" reprinting from googlebooks and other free online sources will appear in your search results.)  If I can download it for free, I generally don't want to pay someone for a reprint. 
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