After years of research, you’re now ready to publish! Congratulations but where to begin and what form should it take? For practical advice and tips on what to include check out the Library’s Research Guide Publish your family history http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/publishing .

Firstly in what format would you like to publish? Traditional book, online, perhaps as a digital or hardcopy scrapbook or even as a video or dvd? Many possibilities but what will suit the information you have discovered, your potential audience and importantly your budget? Are you intending to make it available to immediate family members only or did you want to share with a wider audience? Have a look at some of the websites and publications included in our Research Guide to gather ideas.

However you decide to publish always consider copyright and privacy issues. See the websites of the Australian Copyright Council http://www.copyright.org.au and the Office of the Privacy Commisioner http://www.privacy.gov.au for advice.

There are many examples of published family histories in the collections of the State Library of Victoria. A couple of hours spent examining some of these will suggest a range of possibilities. A published family history does not have to be a massive 600 page volume. Whatever size or format you choose however you need to make sure that your story is easy to read, well referenced and importantly should include an index of names, places and subjects so others can find specific topics easily.

We also recommend that you obtain an ISBN http://www.thorpe.com.au/isbn/index.htm and a Cataloguing-in-Publication record http://www.nla.gov.au/services/CIP2.html . This C.I.P. is  a National Library of Australia service to provide a cataloguing record for a publication before it is published.

Dont forget as well if you publish in Victoria that most items must be deposited with the State Library of Victoria and the National Library of Australia http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/services/make-legal-deposit ensuring that your work will be preserved and accessible for the future, not just for your own family but to the Victorian and Australian communities as a whole.

Anne