In every genealogical society, genealogical library, local history society etc., there is some person upon whom the executive has dumped the responsibility to plan future programs, find speakers, arrange events. Often its the same person who complained last year about the third appearance of Joyce the scrap book lady.
I read something recently on SpeakerNetNews.com that suggested that events create a controlled-marketing environment that drives sales. I find this very interesting. And it got me thinking about a conversation I had one evening at a regional genealogy conference with Ryan Taylor and Dave Obee, both authors and lecturers.
I receive a weekly newsletter from Seminar Announcer, a free service that promotes seminars all over the continent. There are an amazing number of free and reasonably priced programs available that are aimed at business and marketing that would be useful to anyone hoping to get ahead on the business side of professional genealogy. I was particularly interested in the TeleClasses or Audio Conferences as they are sometimes called. I suspect they are a practical solution, though imperfect, to convey information to others and could be a model for the delivery of several aspects of genealogy education. Here are some upcoming events listed:
My son The Hermit Poet has just launched a new venture you might be interested in. Check out http://www.lone-crow.com/Design/. Think about a custom designed web page for your business designed by a creative young genealogist.
A recent comment on an earlier posting prompts me to share thoughts on my program evaluation form. Let's make this like a workshop and you can participate with me. First I'll discuss my objectives in using a form, then some insights into the the reasoning behind the structure. Finally comes your part. Look at the form, then make suggestions for changes and improvements, or comment on how it looks from your perspective. Interested? Read on.
Kay Haviland Freilich wrote and article entitled, "Skill Building: Background Information: An Overlooked Research Tool" which appeared in the September 2005 issue of On Board: Newsletter of the Board for Certification of Genealogists pages 17 and 18. She wrote about the importance of knowing the background information on our ancestors time and place. She zeroed in on learning the laws, geographic and political jurisdictional changes, and the creation of records. This is the sort of thing librarians have training in, searching for background information. How do they do it?
Somewhere on the continent every year there are a dozen or a hundred genealogy societies who in desparation for a program invite members to share an account of their favorite ancestor. I'd like to suggest the program planners give that one a rest. Here's some thoughts.
One of the great weaknesses in the genealogists who I served as a librarian for 22 years was their lack of advance preparation before visiting an archives, library or record repository of any sort. So a few years ago I prepared a lecture entitled "Romancing the Librarian" which is now a two hour workshop. Here's what we cover.
Seven Quickie Programs
Here are 7 things a librarian can teach genealogists to help them become more independent learners in less than 7 minutes. Take a look for yourselves
Posted in Librarians as Educators, Teaching Genealogy
I understand that Marian Press has created a new on-line course for genealogy librarians and library workers. Developing a Genealogy Web Site is the last of the compulsory courses for the Librarianship Certificate offered by the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. With so little training available for librarians and library workers serving genealogists, this Certificate program has been a most welcome in-service level training for many. Here's more about the course.
Genealogy Education 