ThinkGenealogy

As June comes to a close, we finish the third month of the ProGen Study Group. Our assigned chapters from Professional Genealogy were:

• Chapter 4 - The Essential Library by Joy Reisinger, CG
• Chapter 7 - Copyright and Fair Use by Val D. Greenwood, J.D., AG

Chapter 4 begins with the phrase: “A personal library is an essential tool of every professional. As genealogists, we use the written word on a daily basis for information about unfamiliar locales and repositories, as well as for source material.”

The chapter then proceeds to break down the selection criteria for our library into three goal areas: education, efficiency, and reliability. As we then proceed to stock our library, we can do it in stages starting with a basic shelf, adding more essential materials, and finally topping it off with useful, but discretionary items. We should also have a balance of three categories of media: instructional works, general references, and source materials. Like the public and academic libraries of today, our libraries will be a mix of books, magazines, journals, maps, and digital media. This chapter helps us plan our personal library so we can then purchase our items as time and budget allows.

(more…)

I will be presenting at the Family History Expo 2008 held in Mesa, Arizona on November 14-15.  The Expo is organized by My Ancestors Found.  My presentation is currently scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and is titled: Navigating Research with the Genealogical Proof Standard.

Here is the short course description:

(Beginner - Experienced) This class discusses the Genealogical Proof Standard and walks the student through the process by way of a visualization called the Genealogy Research Process map. Each step is explored through case study and uses traditional and online resources.

This is the first time that a conference by My Ancestors Found is being held in Arizona.  This is exciting as it will be about an hour drive from where I live.  It is a bonus that I get to present.

I encourage all that can to attend this conference.  If you are interested, attend my presentation.  At the very least, say hello if you see me.

Last week our family went on vacation and apparently so did the ThinkGenealogy site.  I had limited internet connectivity during the week, plus was having a great time with the family so I didn’t check the site much.  One morning I discovered the site was down.  Not only that, but all my files were gone from the web hosting server.  I wasn’t able to really deal with tech support until we returned but after a quick restore, the site is back online.

Just want to pass along the news that Everton’s Genealogical Helper will also be available as an online edition starting July 1, 2008.  Readers who choose to subscribe to the print edition will have free access to the online edition.  Also available is an online-only option for $12.00 a year.  A special is available from now to July 1 to subscribe to the online edition for just $10.00.

Here is the press release from Genealogy Online, Inc.:

(more…)

May was the second month for the ProGen Study Group.  You can read about April’s report at ProGen Study Group #1.

This month we continued our study of Professional Genealogy by reading the following:

•  Chapter 2 – Educational Preparation by Claire Mire Bettag, CGRS
•  Chapter 8 – Alternative Careers by Elizabeth Kelly Kerstens, CGRS

Chapter 2 provided details on academic degrees or credit programs in genealogy. For example, BYU offers a BA in Family History – Genealogy as well as a Family History Certificate. Another certificate program is the Home Study Course provided by the National Genealogical Society. This chapter also talks about major conferences such as NGS, FGS, and those held at BYU. There are also numerous self-study options discussed. If I were to list all the educational opportunities, it would take pages. One newer series of conferences that is not mentioned in the chapter are those provided by My Ancestors Found. The chapter included mostly US programs but did mention some international ones.

Particularly helpful are pages 19-21 that provides questions in the areas of presenters, programs, sponsors, and other concerns that can be used to evaluate educational opportunities to determine which are right for you.

(more…)

Our first peer-reviewed assignment for the ProGen Study Group was to write a draft of our mission statement. Since I am not currently looking to hire myself out for research, I thought that I would create a mission statement for the ThinkGenealogy site:

(more…)

This week I received an e-mail announcing the grand opening of Barnes & Noble’s online magazine store.  So the first thing I did was do a search for “genealogy” and my results came up empty:

Although this was disappointing, I see this as an opportunity for the various genealogy and family history magazines to contact Barnes & Noble and get their magazines listed. I am not sure what the trade-offs would be to have your magazine included on the Barnes & Noble site, but it might just be worth it for the extended exposure.  The following print magazines come to mind that could be included on this site:

(more…)

Each year in California a conference is held where the world’s greatest thinkers and doers present “ideas worth spreading.” The conference is called TED which stands for technology, entertainment, and design. What started in 1984 as a gathering place to explore these three converging fields has expanded its content to include science, business, the arts, and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, each of the 50 presenters gets 18 minutes to give the talk or performance of their lives. The results are fascinating, inspirational, ingenious, or just plain beautiful. Many of these talks are made available for free online at www.ted.com.

Does genealogy have anything like a TED conference?

(more…)

On May 7th, I met with 5 other genealogists to discuss the book, Professional Genealogy: a Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills.  I am part of a study group that each month reads chapters from this book in preparation for an online discussion via instant messaging (IM) software.  The discussion lasted for an hour and a half as we answered prepared questions for the two chapters that we read.
(more…)

Soon after posting the Genealogy Research Process map, I was contacted by Bob Coret about translating it into Dutch.  Bob took charge of the entire effort and enlisted the help of the Family Tree Forum (Stamboom Forum).  With the help of about 8 volunteers the map was translated, reviewed, and corrected.  My part of the project was easy as I simply copied and pasted the translations and as needed reduced the font size to fit the longer words.  The team did an excellent job and I want to congratulate them for their efforts.  I hope the translated map will be very useful to you for many years.

downloadable PDF (Dutch) - 8.1 MB