Sounding
Out
Your Heritage
HOW
TO
CREATE
A
MEMORY
BOOK
You
don't
need
a
publishing
contract
and an
agent
to
create a
book
that
you,
your
family and
your
friends can
be
proud
of
. Find
out
how
to
create
a
book
which
celebrates
your
life - past
and
present
- in a
fun,
interesting and inexpensive way!
What
is
a memory book?
A
memory
book
is a
collection
of
memories
(of
either
one
person
or
of
a
group
of
people
) made accessible
to
a
wider
audience. The
memories
can
be
presented
visually (i.e.
old
photographs),
told
as
stories using
text
or
a combination
of
both
.
Why create memory book?
•
It
is a
good
way
of
permanently
recording
recollections
of
events, eras,
people
etc
•
Others
can
explore
the
past and
your
experience
of
it
through
the
memory
book
•
You
can use and
develop
new
skills in creating a
memory
book
i.e. writing, art and design, editing, IT
• Creating a
book
as
part
of
a
group
can
be
great
fun.
It
offers
the
opportunity
to
find
out
more
about
people
as
you share stories and discuss issues
• Creating
the
book
might
provide
you
with
an
opportunity
to
research
new
areas
of
interest
• A
memory
book
is
a
wonderful
gift
for
family and
friends and is something
that
you can feel proud
of
How
do you
get
started?
You
might
be
creating
the
book
by
yourself
or
as
part
of
a
group
,
but
you
need
to
be
clear
about
any
theme
or
structure
early
on
. If
you
are
working
in a
group,
you
may decide
that
the
book
will
be
a collection
of
personal
stories - perhaps
one
page
per
person. Alternatively,
you
might
alight
on
a
theme
for
the
book,
such
as
theatre
or
the
local high
street
during
war
time,
which
runs
through
all contributions.
Once
you
have an idea
of
how
the
book
will come
together,
you can
start
producing
the
content.
What
to
include
in
the book?
Your memories are
the
starting
point
for
the
content
of
your
book,
but
it
isn't always easy
to
remember
what
happened a long
time
ago
or
indeed
to
talk
freely
about
the
past.
If
you are
working
as
part
of
a
group,
you
might
collect
together
some
objects
or
photographs
from
your
past which have certain memories
or
stories
associated
with
them.
Look
at
and
talk
about
these
objects
with
others and see
what
sort
of
memories this
triggers.
If you are
working
on
your
own
,
try
visiting
the
local muse
um
, archive
or
library;
explore
things
that
interest
you and
that
have relevance
to
your
past. This
might
prompt
some ideas
for
what
to
include in
your
book
.
Photographs and images can make
your
book
visually
interesting. Look
through
your
photo
albums
for
images
that
you associate
with
the
stories you wish
to
include in
your
book
. You can create copies
of
these
images (so
that
you can
keep
the
original)
by
scanning
them
onto
a
computer
(see
below
for
more
information
on
scanning).
You
might
want
to
include
current
photographs
of
yourself and others
who
have
contributed
to
the
book.
Make
sure you
take
good
quality,
digital
photographs
that
you can transfer easily
to
a computer.
c;em
•
Sounding Out Your
Heritage
Presentation
You
should present
the
content
in
the
book
as
you like,
but
remember
that
other
people
will
be
reading
it,
so
think
about
what
will
make
their
experience
enjoyable
and
engaging
:
• Label
photographs
and images
• Use
the
same
font
size and
format
for
all
headings, sub-headings and
text
• Explain any references
that
might
be
unfamiliar
to
people
of
different
backgrounds
, ages
etc
.
• Keep
the
text
simple and
don
't
put
too
much
text
on
a
page
•
Make
the
front
cover
attractive
and
think
of
a
good
title
•
Acknowledge
those
who
have
contributed
to
the
book
and
helped
to
compile
it
•
Proof
read
the
text
several
times
for
errors.
Making
the
book
Before you create
the
final version
of
your
book,
collect
all
of
the
images and
text
and create a
"mock
up"
. You
can
buy
sketch pads
or
use
rough
paper,
cut
to
the
same
size
as
your
book
pages, and lay
out
the
text
and images
for
each page. This will
give
you
a really
good
idea
of
how
the
book
will look.
You
could
create
the
final version using a
simple
scrapbook
- sticking in
text
and images.
You
can easily
get
hold
of
large
books
with
blank pages (hard
or
soft
-
backed)
from
your
local stationers, arts and
craft
shop
or
WH
Smith.
But
you can also
now
create
bound
and
printed
books
for
relatively
little.
www.blurb.com
is a
website
that
can
support
you
through
the
whole
design and
print
process:
•
Download
a
template
for
the
book
design
from
the
www.blurb.com
website
•
Place
your content into
the
template and then upload
the
completed
template
back on
to
the
website
• The
team
at
www
.
blurb
.com
will
prepare
the
template
for
printing
and
you
can
then
order
and
pay
for
as
many copies
as
you
would
like.
www.blurb.com
will
post
the
books
to
you.
c;em
.
You can
create
your
book
using
your
own
design
programme
(Adobe
lnDesign
is
recommended
). You
would
then
upload
your
finished
design
to
the
Blurb
website
and
order
as
above.
Whichever
design
programme
you use, make sure
the
measurements are
the
same as
the
print
sizes available
through
Blurb.
If
you are
not
using a publisher's
template
remember
to
make
allowances
for
the
spine
and
the
gutter
of
the
book.
Further
information and support
Scanning images-All images
need
to
be
scanned
on
at
least
600dpi
(dots
per
inch)
to
make sure
that
they
are
of
sufficient
print
quality
. You can purchase scanners
for
as
little
as £50
or
you can
buy
a
printer
with
a scanning
function
(which will
be
a
little
more
expensive). You will
need
to
connect
your
scanner
to
your
computer
so
that
you can
store
your
scanned
images
- make sure
your
printer
and scanner are
compatible
.
If
you
don't
want
to
buy
a scanner, you should
be
able
to
make use
of
one
at
your
library, or,
for
a small fee,
at
your
local
newsagent
or
internet
cafe.
Companies
which
provide
online
design
and
print
services are:
www.blurb.com;
www.unibook.com;
www.photobox.co.uk;
www.solentro.co.uk/find
_
out/my
_
own
