FamilySearchWiki:WikiProject:Adding MDH Links to County Pages, Part 3: Adding Links for County Histories

Purpose
Adding online resources from the Missouri Digital Heritage website to Missouri county pages.

Task List
Task List

Sample Pages
Adair County, Missouri Genealogy St. Louis County, Missouri Genealogy

Step 1: Review List on County Page
1. Select a county to work on from the task list. Type your name in the name column.

2. Go to the Wiki page for the county you are working on and see if there is already a list of local histories listed under the heading "Local Histories".

3. If there are books listed with links to digital images, go to Part A, Step 2 below to reformat the links to match the instructions.

4. If there is not a link to a digital image of the book, start with Part A, Step 3 and go through each website to see if an online version can be located. Then use the instructions in Part A, Step 2 to format the links to match the instructions.

5. After reformatting and adding links to existing entries, go to Part A, Step 4.

WARNING: If at any time the list for online books becomes too large, please feel free to decide what should be included and what should not. Local histories created before 1900 and shortly thereafter are excellent to keep because they can contain biographies of local residents and early settlers. Focus on those early county histories first.

Step 2: How to Format Entries for Local Histories
1.'''You can go to a sandbox page or directly edit the county page. Because others may be adding other content on county pages, we suggest working in one of your sandbox pages.'''

2. Refer to the catalog entry for the book and use the following format to enter the information about the book on your sandbox page:
 * a. Start each entry with a bullet.
 * b. Title of book in italics
 * c. Year of publication
 * d. Add the word “By” and then put the author’s full name, starting with first name
 * e. Add publication information, using the following: publication location, followed by colon, publisher.
 * f. Add the words "Online at:" at the end following the publisher.
 * g. All books should be placed in alphabetical order by title.

Example:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:

Wikitext example:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:

Words of guidance:
 * Capitalize the complete title even though it is not in the catalog.
 * If the title is really long, just give the first portion of the title and leave off the rest.
 * For missing information, use the following guidelines:
 * Missing author: leave it blank and move on to the publisher information.
 * Missing publication date: use n.d.
 * Missing publication place: use n.p.
 * Missing publisher: use n.p.

Example of no author, no date of publication, no place of publication, and no publisher information:
 * Niobrara Centennial 1856-1956. N.d. N.p: n.p.

Step 3: Finding and Adding Links for Digital Images of Books to the Wiki When They are Not on the Wiki Page
When you come across a county history and there is no link to a digital image of the book, please search the following sites for it. Then go to the subheading for the site where you found it.
 * FamilySearch
 * Hathitrust (Hathitrust.org)
 * Internet Archive (Archive.org)
 * Google Books (books.google.com)
 * Ancestry (Ancestry.com)
 * Worldcat (Worldcat.org)

FamilySearch
After creating the book entry reference, we need to link it to the digital image on FamilySearch Books. Do the following steps.

1. Return to the book entry in the FamilySearch catalog and copy the name of the book.

2. Go to the FamilySearch Books search at: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/

NOTE: Do not use the url displayed when using the red link in the FamilySearch Catalog and instead follow these directions. This is a redirect and will expire after several years and the link will break. You will know you have the incorrect URL if it has "redirection" in the URL. Here is an example of an incorrect url that should not be used: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/100736-redirection

3. Paste in the name of the book and do a search.

4. From the list of results find the correct book and click on the link.

5. Copy the URL found in the address bar of your browser. (yes, some are ridiculously long - copy it anyway)

NOTE: A template was used previously for FamilySearch Books online (now changed to FamilySearch Digital Library). However, a change to the viewer has caused the template to no longer work.

6. Now add the link after, "Online at:" at the end of the book citation.

7. Add a square bracket just before link address and add FamilySearch Digital Library] " at the end of the URL with a space between the URL and FamilySearch. Use the example below:

Example in wikitext:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Example:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

8. You are now ready to look for this digital book on other websites.

Hathitrust
1. If you find an entry for the book on Hathitrust on the results list, click on the link. Then, look for "Full View" under "Viewability" and click on the link. This will open the url for the book.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * [URL Hathitrust]

3. If there is already a link to FamilySearch for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Hathitrust]

4. Go back to the Hathitrust website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

5. Go back to the Google results list and see if any other books are on the list until you have 3 links.

Internet Archive
1. If you find a result for an entry for the book on Internet Archive (archive.org), click on the link. This will open the url for the book.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * [URL Internet Archive]

3. If there is already a link for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Internet Archive]

4. Go back to the Internet Archive website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

5. Go back to the Google results list and see if any other books are on the list until you have 3 links. If this is the 3rd link, go to Step C below.

Google Books
1. If you find a result for an entry for the book on Google books, click on the link. This will open the url for the book. If the book is really available online, it will have a red button that says, E-book Free in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. If that button is not there, it is not available on Google books and you can go to the next result on the list.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * Online at: [URL Google Books]

3. If there is already a link for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Google Books]

4. Go back to the Google Books website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

5. Go back to the Google results list and see if any other books are on the list until you have 3 links. If this is the 3rd link, go to Step C below.

Learnwebskills website
1. Before we check Ancestry (which requires a log in for the user to see the book), double check this website to make sure you found all the possible county books that are available online to free websites.

2. Go to the Learnwebskills website and click on the state you are working on.

3. Review the list to see if any additional books need to be added for your specific county. We will not be listing any of the histories for just the state - only county histories.

4. If you find an additional website that lists the county history, use the directions to create the url using directions under Google books. Replace Google Books with the name of the website.

Ancestry
1. If you find a result for an entry for the book on Ancestry, click on the link. This will open the url for the book.

2. Go back to your sandbox page and review the entry for your book. If there is not an online version already for the book, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * [URL Ancestry ($)],

3. If there is already a link for the online version, copy and paste the following directly behind it:
 * , [URL Ancestry ($)],

4. Go back to the Ancestry website and copy the URL and replace "URL" with the correct URL you just copied.

NOTE: There may be some links for the online books on other websites. We would like to put these websites first as they are large websites and more reliable. If you only have 1 or 2 links and the above websites don't have the book, feel free to adjust the instructions above and add them to the book entry.

Example of book entry containing links to websites for online images of books:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($).

Example in wikitext:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($)

WorldCat Link
In this step we are adding a link to WorldCat so individuals can find out more about the book and any libraries that may have a physical copy of the book. Use the instructions below.

1. Go back to your sandbox page and copy and paste the following wikitext and add it directly behind the last online link in the book entry:

2. Go back to the tab for the FS Catalog entry of the book and locate the link, “View this catalog record in WorldCat for other possible copy locations.

3. Locate the ID number in the URL of the book. In the following URL, the ID number is 865598422. Example WorldCat URL:
 * http://www.worldcat.org/title/biographical-and-historical-memoirs-of-adams-clay-hall-and-hamilton-counties-nebraska-comprising-of-a-condensed-history-of-the-state-a-number-of-biographies-of-distinguished-citizens-of-the-same-a-brief-descriptive-history-of-each-of-the-counties-mentioned-and-numerous-biographical-sketches-of-the-citizens-of-such-counties/oclc/865598422

4. Copy and paste the ID number in the URL in the book entry replacing "ID#" after the first pipe in the template. Example:

Example of complete book entry:
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.

Example in wikitext:
 * *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.

5. You can add any comments about the book you think is necessary after the worldcat link and end the entry with a period. Example:
 * Ye Kingdome of Accawmacke or the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. 1911. By Jennings Cropper Wise. Richmond, Va.: Bell Book and Stationery Co. Online at:, Internet Archive, Google Books; . This is a reprint of the 1899 original book.

Step 4: Find the County Histories on Missouri Digital Heritage
1. Go to Missouri Digital Heritage.

2. Click on the Quick Links to the upper right and select county histories.

3. Go to the section at the bottom of the page titled "search by county".

4. Select your county and click "search".

Step 5: Add the county history links to the Wiki
1. Check each county history to make sure it's not already listed on the Wiki page.

2. Add the county histories not already listed on the Wiki page, using the instructions above in Step 2 to correctly format each entry. Limit the number added to three histories.

3. Add the link after the words "online at:" by copying and pasting the code below: [URL Missouri Digital History]

4. Replace "URL" with the URL of the county history.

5. Put "added/updated county history links" in the summary.

6. Click save.

Part B: Adding Links for County Plat Books
1. Return to the Quick Links and select county plat books

2. Go to the section at the bottom of the page titled "search by county".

3. Select your county and click "search".

4. Go to the Maps and Gazetteers heading on your county's Wiki page.

5. Check each county plat book to make sure it's not already listed on the Wiki page.

6. Add all plat books not already listed on the Wiki page above the link to FamilySearch Places.

7. Put "added county plat book links".

8. Click save.

Part C: Adding Links for Birth and Death Records
1. Go to the heading vital records and check to see if Missouri Digital Heritage's birth and death indexes are listed. If listed, select another county and return to part 1. If not listed, go to the next step.

2. To add the link for births, copy and paste the code below. *Pre-1910 Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index. 3. To add the link for deaths, copy and paste the code below. *1910-1960 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 at Missouri Digital Heritage - index and images. 4. Type "added vital record links" in the summary section.

5. Click save.