Last modified: Sunday, June 14, 2009 2:02 AM EDT Linda Alger's completed family history book, "The Genealogy fo the Adam/Lemieux/Gordon/Nolin/Guillette/Desalliers Families." (Staff photo by Mike George) Family stories BY LINDA ALGER FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE Over the winter months, I stayed warm by working on organizing our family history into a genealogy book using a Web site called Blurb.com. My brother and aunts had done a great deal of research and were able to trace four family lines back to the 1600s. In addition to that information, my grandfather and great aunt (my grandmother's sister) had taken the time to research and write about their family history and their own lives years ago. This was the perfect time to write the book as my Mom and two sisters, now in their eighties, were able to provide a wealth of information and enthusiasm about the project, and even acted as my proofreaders. The book I organized has over 400 photographs of six generations and is about 120 pages in length. What's great is that Blurb.com allows users to create just about any type and size of book whether it be a cooking, travel, wedding or photography book. The software is free, very user friendly and there are tutorial videos available on the site to answer any questions. Once you have researched, written, downloaded and proofread your book and are satisfied that it is complete, you simply place your order, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the book. During that time, the book is uploaded back onto the site for printing and purchase. All told, it takes about a week for the finished product to arrive at your door. The most important thing throughout the project is not to become overwhelmed. Just keep plugging away at it and your labor of love will be completed. Everyone in my family loved the book and to date, they have purchased about 40 books. Having all of this valuable information in one place and to know that generations to come will read it has certainly been worthwhile. Read on to find out how to make your own family genealogy book. How to start a family history book Be prepared - researching family history is time consuming; however, there are ways to save time. First, decide who the book is written for. Is it for immediate family members, paternal and maternal, or first cousins? Contact relatives to see if they have old photographs, genealogy information or any family records. Make this a family project. You will be pleasantly surprised of what hidden skills family members may have, especially the younger generation when it comes to computers. Family members who may want to contribute to the book about their lives or their parents to make the book much more personal. Second, ask family members to supply photos that they would like to appear in the book to you on a disc at 300 dpi. Ask for extra photos as some might not work well in print. Getting an electronic version of the photos will save hours of time in scanning. Next, you will need a Photoshop type of program to allow you to make adjustments to photographs that are too light or too dark. After speaking to relatives, the next step is finding supplemental genealogy information. I was fortunate that family members had taken an interest in genealogy, but if you do not have this information, the Attleboro Public Library now has Ancestry.com, which can be accessed at the library, and Heritagequest.com, where library members can access the information from their home computer in addition to the library. Gather all the information you have and make a list of what you have to work with and what you have to research further. This is a huge undertaking for one person so give out assignments. It helps designate several relatives to be in charge of downloading the software and overseeing the book; researching genealogy information; scanning photos into the computer; cropping and adjusting photographs that are damaged, too light or too dark; typing information into the computer; organizing and designing your book; and writing and proofreading. Keep yourself organized. On my computer, I started a folder for the "Family Book." In the folder, are other folders - genealogy information, photographs (I organized folders by years and families -i.e. 1900 to 1920 and under each family name.) This will be of great help when you begin to enter the information and photographs into Blurb.com. About blurb.com Watch the tutorials, as they are very informative and very easy to follow. Then, decide what type of book you want (8"x10", soft cover, hard cover, photo with text) and download the software onto your computer. If you have your information already in Microsoft Word, the program will allow you to copy it into the book although you may have to do some formatting. The program does not recognize Excel, so genealogy information or information that requires you to "tab" is best entered right into the Blurb book program. This program automatically saves information as it is put in, so once you delete something, you cannot retrieve it. All blurb pages can be viewed at one time and pages can be moved and your book can be rearranged. There are many formats to select from for your photo and text layout, so don't be afraid to play with them. Order just one copy and proofread again as there are sure to be a few typos. Ask family members to identify errors with notes on each page, then make corrections and resubmit the book's final copy to the site. Linda Alger is the Administrative Assistant to the Attleboro Municipal Council and is a local artist who is very involved in the Attleboro art community. She can be reached at BEAKERALG@AOL.COM (please include the word "CRAFTS" in subject block). Any letters she receives may be used in future columns so please include your name and daytime telephone.