Fast and affordable methods for training genealogy staff

Making the Financial Case for

Genealogical LibrarianshipFast and Affordable Methods for Training Genealogy Staff

Presented by Nicole Wedemeyer Miller, University of Illinois [email protected]

A series of interconnecting talks…

Assumptions

That some training is necessary & desirable

That your new staff knows nothing about family history

That this training will cover research sources & methods, and patron service

That the combination of in-house & independent study is the cheapest way to go

That this does not cover everything, but will enable them to answer many questions

Break it down.

It’s modular!

Do, re, mi…

Module 1

What are genealogy and family history?

Lesson:

A quick overview of genealogy and family history will define these terms and provide the big picture.

Homework:

Crash Course in Genealogy

“…a guided tour by flying over genealogy research at 20,000 feet.”

OR

Family History 101

PLUS

“What’s in a Name?”

Chapter 4 of

Unpuzzling Your Past

They can consult:

Cost?

Free

The Confidence Booster…

Module 2

What They Already Know

Lesson:

Many sources used in genealogy reference are sources already used in regular reference service.

Activity: reference tour

--phone, crisscross and city directories--BGMI and the biographical sources it indexes--back issues of newspapers, either microfilmed or print plus any indices--general and specialized encyclopedias--perpetual calendar--history articles and books, especially WPA guides, American Heritage Magazine--travel books (lots of local history information hides out here)--maps

Cost?

One hour x 2 = 2 hours

The Fork in the Road…

Module 3:

Searching vs. Researching

Lesson:

There is a big difference between searching for previously compiled and published information, and researching sources in order to compile your own. Any information found through searching needs to be evaluated, not just taken at face value.

Where to search?

Look for published genealogies on World Cat, Familysearch.org, GB, Internet Archive, and at the Library of Congress.

Search for articles on a family/geographical area in genealogical and local history periodicals using PERSI, GPAI and Index to Genealogical Periodicals.

More searching activities

The WorldConnect Project at Rootsweb.ancestry.com and werelate.org.

Message boards at Rootsweb and genealogy.com.

Examine Genealogies in the Library of Congress.

Cost?

2 hours

The Whac-A-Mole™ Game…

Module 4:

Where to Search

Overarching lesson:

Sources are located in a variety of often-changing locations, and many of the needed sources will be located outside of your library/archive.

4a: Government offices/repositories

The U.S. Census

“The Census Day” by Dollarhide http://www.historicalpreservationgroup.org/hgs_census_day.htm

“Census Mistakes” by Dollarhide http://genealo.gy/?cat=1&paged=470

Ancestry’s 10 Census Tips--c.mfcreative.com/email/us/guides/10_census_tips_v3.pdf

Have them track one ancestor through three U.S. censuses.

Military

View:

Webinar “Introduction to Military Records at the National Archives” by John Deebenhttp://www.ustream.tv/recorded/38187091

Land

Explore:

Bureau of Land Management http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx

The States

Go to the wiki at familysearch.org and search under a name of your state. Look for the state archive/library that is listed. Explore its website.

Or, go to http://statearchives.us/index.htm.

Counties

Non-government

Lesson:

Valuable sources are housed everywhere from the major genealogy collections, to the most modest public library.

“9 Genealogy Libraries to Visit Before You Die” http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/9-libraries/

U.S. Genweb—go to the page for your county and see what research places are listed.

FHL/FamilySearch.org

Lesson:

The LDS Church sponsors the largest genealogical organization in the world, which has amassed a huge amount of information in Salt Lake City. Much of it is on tens of thousands of rolls of microfilm, which are stored in a granite mountain, but can be accessed through ILL at a network of Family History Centers and participating libraries. This information is beginning to be digitized, and can be found on their website.

Read the article “FamilySearch” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FamilySearch

Search the FHL catalog for resources in your area. See if any of the digitized record groups cover your area.

View: Record Search Tips on FamilySearch (4 minutes) https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/record-search-tips-on-familysearch/557

AND

Access to Records at Familysearch.org (3 minutes) https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/access-to-records-on-familysearch/551

Online

Lesson:

Not all genealogical information is online, but some is, and it may be good or bad. The most commonly used types of websites include: government, library/archives, collections of digitized materials, genealogy/local history groups, volunteer genealogy projects, and subscription based.

How to Google Your Family Tree by Daniel Lynch

Searchforancestors.com

Cyndi’s List and Linkpendium

“101 Best Websites for Genealogy in 2013” http://familytreemagazine.com/article/101-best-websites-2013

Home Sources

Best of the Photodetective: http://www.familytreemagazine.com/upload/images/pdf/best-of-the-photo-detective.pdf

Cost:

10 hours

Find Your Inner Anal Retentive…

Module 5:

How Information is Properly Recorded

Lesson:

Researchers need to record information precisely using standard formats such as the family group sheet and the pedigree chart, available in print and computerized versions, and they need to keep their stuff organized.

View

Watch “Manage Your Genealogy Papers” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSRL--on6gs (6 minutes)

Activities

Family Group Sheet, Pedigree Chart, Source Checklist, Research Logs—google these terms in order to see various samples of all of these forms.

Read this short explanation of the proper way to fill out genealogical forms: About.com: “Charting Your Course” Lesson 1c http://genealogy.about.com/library/lessons/blintro1c.html.

GenSoftReviews 2013—examine this list, and then go to the websites of two of the software programs in order to see what features they have. Most allow you free trials.

Homework

Fill out a FGS for the nuclear family they were born into and source it as best you can.

Interactive Online Trees—go to Family Tree at familysearch.org and play with it.

Cost:

3 hours

Sorting it all out…

Module 6:

Analyzing and Interpreting Information

Lesson:

Information pulled from sources can be erroneous, conflicting, or unclear, and the researcher must evaluate it.

Read, “Fundamentals of Evidence Analysis,” pp. 15-38 of Evidence Explained.

Genealogy Research Map

A case study:

Read “Challenge: Cordelia’s Birth Date and Birthplace,” pp. 212-214 of Unpuzzling Your Past.

Resources:

Script Tutorial: Making Sense of Old Handwriting https://script.byu.edu/Pages/home.aspx

United States Record Selection Table https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Record_Selection_Table

Cost:

2 hours

Painting in the Background…

Module 7

Background Research

Lesson:

Genealogy without historical context is boring, and the background information often helps explain why our ancestors lived as they did.

Explain that background information is found in many of the same places we search for published genealogies—World Cat, GB, PERSI, etc.

http://genealogybooklinks.com

Highlight:

Infotrac, America History and Life

American Memory website.

Online State Encyclopedias and timelines

Cost:

1 hour

Wearing many hats…

Module 8:

How to Provide Service

Lesson:

Staff will be called on to fulfill a number of different roles when providing genealogy reference, including negotiator, therapist, and research coach. Also, the genealogy reference interview is typically longer and more complicated than the regular reference interview.

Read “The Genealogy Reference Interview,” PNLA Quarterly, v. 68, Spring 2004, pp. 13-15. http://www.pnla.org/recent-quarterly

Observe—either at your institution or another.

Cost:

4 hours

Recapitulation:

What are genealogy & family history?What they already knowSearching vs. researchWhere to researchHow to record information properlyAnalyzing & interpretingBackground researchHow to provide service

Total cost:

24 hours

But wait, there’s more…

Module 9:

Custom Tailored

Your collection

Your service policy

Other resources in your community

Flexibility in the order of the modules

Flexibility in swapping out sources & activities

Flexibility in updating as needed

Continuing ed…

Dick Eastman’s blogGENEALIB “Digital Library of the Week” in American Libraries www.ilovelibraries.or/articles/digitallibraryPrinted SourcesWebinars—Rootstech, FamilySearch.org, Legacy, Wisconsin Historical Society, NGSAdventures in Genealogy Education--http://genealogyeducation.blogspot.com

Learn by teaching

Geneatech—software, apps, scanners, etc.

Old House Research

Adoption Research

Various Types of Ethnic Research

Genetics and genealogy

Social Media and genealogy

Why this method will work

Manageable chunks

Explaining why each chunk is important

Concise, up to date, and entertaining information

A variety of formats

Final thought

Go Illini!