Why Pre-Register for Free Events?

Should program planners have a pre-registration for free genealogy events?

Its a good question that deserves some thought. Personally it is my experience as a genealogy librarian and program planner that even in situations where genealogy programs are offered free to the public, that having participants sign up for the event in advance is a real advantage. Here’s why:

Risk and Hope: The Program Planner’s Headache

Inspiration from an old barn.
On the highway north from home enroute to a speaking engagement I passed a farm so close to the road I could read easily the farm name on the barn: Risk and Hope. I smiled, because it sums up farming on the northern great plains so concisely. Later that night, homeward bound from a rather unhappy event where numbers failed to meet the program planner’s dreams, I passed the farm again and pondered anew the message in the name for people like that program planner, How do we reduce Risk and increase Hope for the program planner?

On-line Program Registration

Wouldn’t it be nice if your local or state genealogical society could handle registration for its major events on-line just like major genealogy conferences? The technology is out there. We just need a host. Here’s how it works.

Can’t Afford the Speaker Fee?

Here’s a common problem for genealogical societies. They want a popular speaker for an event, but cannot afford the expensive fee. What can you offer the speaker to reduce the fee?

Creating and teaching a course, simplified.

Years ago a professor of mine told me about creating a course for a group of English language teachers in Italy on a shoe string. It was simple, but creative. There were about a dozen in the group and they met monthly. Sounds like a small genealogy society, doesn’t it. They had one copy of a good book and built the course around the book. Thats sort of backward, but it worked. Here’s what it might look like for a genealogy class.

The Genealogy Clinic

I spotted a notice in a British genealogical publication that some noted professional genealogist was holding a surgery at a certain time or place. I smiled. My English cousins speak as peculiar a language as my American nieces and nephews, just not the same language. A surgery is an event where you can visit a specialist and discuss a problem or issue. In North American English we often use the term “clinic” the same way.

So what is a Genealogy Clinic and how could it be used?

Workbooks: Another Look at a Useful Tool

A good workbook can reinforce or expand on your lessons, workshops or lectures by reviewing and expanding on concepts you introduce in your aural presentation. It does this by asking each learner personally to respond to your questions. Lets explore this a bit.

Negotiating With Speakers

Meet Marsh William Hambrook (1805-1874)  my immigrant ancestor, and by necessity, a pretty fair hand at negotiating a deal, especially to obtain a good horse. Those bargaining skills  are often neglected in our credit card society but are very useful if you are shopping for talented speakers, workshop leaders etc for your library or  genealogical society. Here’s what I mean.

Genealogy Classes as a Member Recruitment Tool

In my travels in the west I have encountered many inovative ideas in genealogy education. While speaking at a conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan I heard about a genealogy society with some creative thinkers and teachers. As a group they offered a beginnig genealogy class in the local night school program.

Tips for Program Planners from my Experiences

If you are involved in doing program and event planning for your local , regional or other genealogical society, you might benefit from the speaker’s experiences that follow. I invite you to read and take note.