Publications - Guidelines for Society or Branches

Updated May 2024

These guidelines have been prepared as a basic guide. Interpretations of correct procedures vary greatly between organizations and agencies and are continuing to change. These guidelines rely heavily on the Style Manual, published by the Australian Government. They have been adapted to meet the perceived needs of the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc. and to accommodate some existing conventions.

1. General

Each branch may develop its own individual style of publication in line with these guidelines.
Throughout each individual publication the most important point is consistency.
An exception is anything that is a quote, which should be exactly as written.
These guidelines should be followed as far as possible for all electronic media as well as printed media.

2. Front Pages /Covers

This gives the first impression of the publication so all care should be undertaken in its presentation.
The Society name is to be in written in full, followed by the Branch. Date of publication on this page is optional e.g.:

Tasmanian Family History Society Inc.
Launceston Branch
June 2023

3. Title Page

Must bear the full title of the work and may identify the author/s.
Must also include the name of the publisher and date of publication.

4. Reverse of Title Page or Imprint Page

Used to accommodate lists of works by the same author/publisher, details of a series, lists of editions or reprints, copyright line or statement, ISBN/ISSN codes.
Publisher's full name and postal address should be given.

5. Fonts

Use of differing fonts should be kept to a minimum throughout the publication.
Upper case should only be used for headings, titles, surnames, etc. Bold type may be used to highlight or emphasise a word, phrase, paragraph or sentence.

6. Italics

Italics are to be used for all newspapers e.g. The Advocate, The Mercury, The Launceston Examiner.
Italics are usually used for all ships, titles of books or articles but single quotes are optional provided one or the other method is used consistently e.g. Bellona or 'Bellona' not Bellona; Pioneers of Tasmania's West Coast by CJ Spinks or 'Pioneers of Tasmania's West Coast' by CJ Spinks.

7. Full Stops

Text

Use a full stop at the end of a sentence.
The only shortened words which need a full stop are Latin shortened forms for example e.g. circa c. that is i.e. and etc.
It is not necessary to use full stops when using initials or acronyms.
An exception to the above is Tasmanian Family History Inc. which retains the full stop in its name.

Databases

As less punctuation is desirable in databases or indexes, the above rules need not apply but consistency is essential.

8. Apostrophes

Use as few apostrophes as possible.
An apostrophe is used to indicate the possessive of nouns e.g. John's hat = the hat of John. The s' should be used for plural nouns that end in s e.g. Members' Interests= the interests of the members. With proper names ending in the letter s add an apostrophe and another s e.g. Burns's report.
Omit apostrophes from church and place names e.g. St Marks Church, Childrens Hospital.
An apostrophe is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters e.g. can't, haven't, would've.
An apostrophe is not used with 1860s 1830s or acronyms: e.g. BDMs Registers, PROs records.

9. Acronyms

The first time an acronym is used it is to be written in full, followed immediately by the acronym in brackets. Thereafter the acronym can be used in that publication.
Acronyms do not have full stops or commas between the letters e.g. TAMIOT rather than T.A.M.I.O.T; PO rather than P.O.; AJCP rather than A.J.C.P.; VDL rather than V.D.L.

10.Quotations

Single quotation marks are to be used to indicate direct speech.
Double quotation marks are only used within quotations e.g. 'The decision of the Executive for "major changes" to meeting times will be implemented.'
Short quotes of less than thirty words are to be within single quotation marks or italicized.
Longer quotes should be indented without quotation marks, need not be italicized and may be printed in a smaller font.

11.Dates

A standard method must be used throughout the publication e.g. 24 March 2009. An exception would be a direct quote when the original must be retained.

12.Numbers

Numbers less than one hundred are generally expressed in words, e.g. two, three, fifty-five etc.
Exceptions - when used to indicate a unit of measurement e.g. ages (21 years); dates (3 March 1886); distances (12 km), weights (3 kg), areas (1100 acres), money ($12.50), time 2:00 or 2.00 or 2 o'clock, percentages (25%).

13. Square Brackets

Should be used to enclose words or phrases inserted in the text by someone other than the author or original source.
Should be used to indicate other notes such as [ continued overleaf] [ see index] [sic].

14. Abbreviations

There are many usage conventions for abbreviations, with the result that the choice may be confusing. Each branch is free to develop its own set of guidelines for abbreviations, but, as emphasised elsewhere, the most important point is consistency, both within the text and within the branch.
A list of abbreviations used within each publication should be included at the beginning of the publication.

15. Footnotes and Endnotes

Place reference numbers for footnotes or endnotes after commas or other sentence punctuation marks without a space.
When more than one reference number is appropriate in the same place, use only one number. Show the additional information in the footnote or endnote, each reference separated by a semicolon.