I'm Robin Van Auken, an editorial consultant specializing in historical and literary topics. I help my clients preserve, present and profit from their most distinctive asset: their history. From books and heritage projects, to exhibits and Internet sites, oral histories and more, I assist others as they unlock the hidden value of their past.

I assist writers in many stages of creative development and publication. I enjoy working with individuals, non-profit organizations, schools, colleges, private companies and municipalities to develop personal and public histories and projects. If you are interested in my services, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

My professional memberships include:

  • Register of Professional Archaeologists
  • Society for Historical Archaeology
  • Society for PA Archaeology
  • Northcentral Chapter 8 SPA
  • Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology
  • American Assoc. State, Local History
 

Editorial Services  

Editorial assistance is available for municipalities, companies, non-profits and individuals who wish to develop public and personal histories, reports, presentations or articles. I have the experience to help you with a variety of projects, including grant writing and most aspects of book development and production. Web design and maintenance also is available. 

Historical Research

Offering a range of historical and editorial services, I work with clients to create a variety of products including exhibits, promotional booklets, historical time lines, Internet sites and exhibits. I can help you tell your story in the format that suits you while adhering to the highest standards of historical practice. Other services include archival researches, investigating census records and other documents, and interviewing people about their knowledge of the past (oral history).

Lycoming College

Lycoming College students may use this section to read the current (Spring 2010) course descriptions and class schedules. Of course, dates and activities are subject to change.

Browse Books

Historical non-fiction is my area of concentration, both as an author and an editor. To date, I have published ten books. Perhaps you require a specialist to chronicle and illustrate your company's story for publication. I provide guidance for new or existing book projects.  

Kindle and other eBooks

I am proficient at developing manuscripts into eBooks, including Kindle, Mobi, Sony and PDF eBooks. I look forward to helping authors become as productive and profitable as possible.

 

Which eReader to Choose

By Robin Van Auken for NorthcentralPA.com
December 18, 2009

I read a recent article online because the question caught my eye. Just last month, I had the same question; however, it's my son who is deployed.

"My daughter is deployed to Iraq right now. She loves to read but, as you can imagine, she has no space for books. Would you compare the Kindle, Sony reader, the Barnes&Noble reader and whatever else is out there so that I can make a decent decision on what to send to Iraq."

-- Cheryl Williams

The article, from the Salt Lake Tribune, reports, "The electronic book reader, or "e-book reader," just might become next year's hottest new electronic gadget. As Cheryl mentioned, there are three main devices on the market, and a fourth from Apple is possibly on its way sometime next year."

The columnist briefly mentions these three ebook readers (read more here: http://www.sltrib.com/technology/ci_13996114)

  • The Kindle from Amazon.com (6-inch screen, $259, and 9-inch screen, $489) is the most popular of the three, and is tied to a vast library of books on Amazon.
  • The Sony reader ($199 to $399) uses either a 5- or 6-inch screen.
  • The Barnes&Noble reader called Nook, ($259) also has a 6-inch screen.

I selected the Kindle and sent it, along with the optional leather case and four large Zip-Loc baggies, to my son. When he's not reading the device, he can keep it double-bagged to keep out the sand. I figured, the Kindle is marketed as the perfect book to read at the beach, so why not in the Middle East?

I made the mistake of registering it to me, and then after buying and downloading books, had to return them and de-register the device. The reason for this is the device was linked to my online Amazon account so any future purchases would have been charged to my account. If you're giving the Kindle as a gift, you want to make sure you register the device in the recipient's name.

Amazon was kind enough to help me with this, but I had to call customer service and have the Kindle with me to read the serial number off of the back.

I was then able to re-purchase books and install them wirelessly on the Kindle. Now my son loves to read, so I found quite a few inexpensive classics (Complete Sherlock Holmes, the Iliad, Jules Verne library, etc.) so the eReader is loaded with content. I also purchased a new Jim Cramer book so he can keep up with his financial interests.

One book I put on his eReader is "Christ's Team: A 21st Century View of Christianity," a book by Robert Frank. I've read the book several times and thought my son would benefit from the author's message. (SKU: 978-0-9841754-0-6 $3.99 U.S. for Kindle / Amazon.com)

Who should read "Christ’s Team"? Couples who want happy families. Young adult leaders returning to church after the common youth absence. Anyone who wonders whether Christianity is important in our modern complex world. Those concerned about the decline of worship attendance and membership in mainline denominations.

The cool thing about Kindle is you don't have to own a Kindle to buy a Kindle book.Kindle for PC software is available free from Amazon for those who want to read ebooks on their computers.

That's right; it's free to download the Kindle for PCs to your computer, or the Kindle application for iPhone, and soon the company is coming out with a Kindle application for Blackberry phones. Then you can purchase and read books inexpensively. If your mobile phone supports eBooks -- and most do -- you can read anywhere. My friend Grace reads eBooks in the bathroom. She has three young children under the age of 5, so it's where she finds her "quiet time."

Because of Kindle for PC, my son was able to begin reading his Kindle books immediately on his laptop while he waited the two-three weeks for the Kindle to arrive at his Army post. I have to admit that I love technology and I really appreciate the ability to connect with my son and provide him a little bit of comfort in his harsh world.  By the way, he loves his Kindle. No doubt, I chose the best option for my soldier.