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From: "Peg's Gmail" <>
Subject: Re: [TGF] Changed URL
Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 21:18:21 -0600
References: <BANLkTi=dHdC8hCL-pMqR0YK7uiaafV7mSA@mail.gmail.com><5C903E89-5D14-47A7-8DE7-F5DB65E48F2A@gmail.com><BANLkTik+Ve-RTzX5Ccs8jfhA0kWfipryNw@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <BANLkTik+Ve-RTzX5Ccs8jfhA0kWfipryNw@mail.gmail.com>


I would suspect the home page URL along with the title of the specific database you accessed at that site in quotation marks would be the best, based on citations I've done in the past.

I constantly need to refer to Elizabeth Shown Mills' book Evidence Explained for examples and details whenever I'm setting up something new. Here is what she says about Web Addresses (URLs) on p 59, section 2.37:

"Identification of a website's address--its URL--can be tricky. Long ULs typically represent dynamic pages created on the fly when we enter a search term. We may find a long URL reusable so long as we do not clear our computer's browser cache. However, it likely will not work for others or for us at a later time. An alternative is to cite the website's home page, along with keywords in the path that takes a browser to to the proper site. That method is not more permanent, however. The reorganization of a website could eventually make our cited keywords and path unworkable. By recording the access date, we may have a reference point we can use to retrieve the material from an Internet cache such as WayBack Machine (http://www.archives.org).";

Hope that helps a bit.


On Apr 4, 2011, at 9:05 PM, Janet Tanksley wrote:

> I never thought of that, Peg, but now in the far reaches of my mind I may remember having studied/read/been told something similar to this. I'm just now getting around to writing the report that uses many of the licenses. As I use them I have gone back to the Archives site to verify all the information in the citation. What you are saying is that I should leave the citation as it was written and add the parenthetical statement.
> I have drilled down to the url for the actual document because the Archives gives the reference url for use in citations. I use a more generic url in the source list entry. Here's an example.
>
> Source List Entry
> Georgia. Newton County. Marriage License Book, 1835–1843. Digital images. Georgia Archives, _Marriage Records from Microfilm_. http://content.sos.state.ga.us/cdm4/countyfilm.php : 2011.
>
>
> First Reference Note
>
> Newton County, Georgia, Marriage License Book, 1835–1843, p. 61, no. 122, Henry Bennett–Nancy Shepherd, 21 December 1836; digital images, Georgia Archives, _Marriage Records from Microfilm_ (http://cdm.sos.state.ga.us/u?/countyfilm,100400 : accessed 4 April 2011).
>
> I suppose I could use the Virtual Vault url (http://cdm.sos.state.ga.us/index.php) or even the archives home page url.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 9:54 PM, Peg's Gmail <> wrote:
> I may be way off here, but if this were my research, I would tend to leave the citations exactly as they are. I might considering adding a parenthetical statement to the source information which carries forward to all related citations--something like (presently www.xxxxxxxxx.com). Or I might add a secondary footnote in the related report.
>
> This question underscores the best reason to use the highest level URL in the source information rather than the exact one
> (ie www.Ancestry.com rather than www.Ancestry.com/asdfjasdf/asdfjkasdf/asdfj;/asdfj;kasf)
> then those looking for the information can find it even if the precise location within that overall URL has changed over the years.
>
> Peg Ivanyo
>
>
> On Apr 4, 2011, at 7:38 PM, Janet Tanksley wrote:
>
> > I think I know the answer to this but I want to be sure. The Georgia
> > Archives changed the URLs for its Marriage Records from Microfilm. (May have
> > changed others also, but the marriage licenses and returns of marriage are
> > what I use most often.) I wrote the citations as soon as I downloaded them,
> > which may have been a few years ago for some. When I go back and update the
> > URL do I change the access date to the date I changed the URL? "Yes" seems
> > like such a logical answer, I hesitate to even ask the question. Thanks for
> > any advice.
> >
> > --
> > Janet J. Tanksley
> >
> > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list.
> > -------------------------------
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>
>
>
>
> --
> Janet Tanksley
>


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