Mentoring a local genealogy society librarian

As the old librarian lay on the floor gasping for breath he noted a lot of useless old books on the genealogy society librarian’s book-shelve ( see view from the floor, above)

Have you ever visited a genealogy society library and marvelled at the vast amount of junk they collect? Not so long ago I had that experience. The basic problem is a lack of professional training for the volunteer librarian and assistants. But there is hope.

Advertisement

Apprentice Adventures 3

What can we learn from the questions Barb the apprentice created from her first reading assignment? I am not interested in the answers to her questions, but rather the power and value of the questions themselves. Let’s look at some of them.

Apprentice Adventures 2:

Met yesterday with Barb the apprentice. She’s motivated! Apparently she’s learning. Here’s what we discussed.

I had asked for ten hours a week. Barb confessed to 19. Like I say, she’s motivated. Made her husband drive the 6 hours to Seattle last week while she studied. this on top of online research, precis writing, creating the 15 questions, etc. assigned. Then she ordered a critical civil registration from England which miraculously appeared in time.

Family Lore from Heritage Books, Mug Books and Local Histories

Genealogy teachers and lecturers often tell people about the marvellous discoveries awaiting in heritage books, mug books and local /county history books. They less often teach how to use those effectively. In an excellant article by Connie Lenzen, “Heriage Books and Family Lore: The Jackson Test in Missouri and Idaho” she teaches some key points I’d like to emphasize.

Using Recorded Genealogy Lectures to Supplement Classes

My friend Pat Ryan was telling me about a six lecture series she is doing at Regina Public Library. As I thought about similar courses I had taught I recalled how often I wished there was time to explore more aspects of these lassons. Here is one idea to supplement the regulr course classes.

Is Genealogy Education your Bag? An organization idea

The other day I heard a busy speaker talking about the classes and workshops she presents –often twice a week. She told me, “I present several unrelated topics and am always clipping articles, stacking books that pertain, etc.” Many genealogy teachers can relate to that. She continued< “When it’s time for the class, I would gather it all up, and then put it away again until next time around. So now I use great and inexpensive large tote bags. I have seen sturdy canvas tote bags offered by LandsEnd and from Harbor Freight their “Canvas Boat Bag” is another option. Of course you can recycle totes from nationa; conferences. Look for ones that are large and strong and have strong straps. My speaker friend concluded, “I keep everything for a particular class permanently in its own tote bag and can toss in things as I think of them.” Then she simply picks up the RIGHT bag and goes, with everything needed in the bag.

I’ll bet she even hangs them on pegs when not in use! What do you think?

Do You Need a Virtual Advisory Board?

Often in the business of genealogy education we need to consult with people to improve our performance, our offerings and our services. some people recommend forming a collegial mastermind group of peers doing similar work to exchange ideas and motivate. While collegial mastermind groups can have a tremendous impact on our genealogy education business, we might also consider forming a Virtual Advisory Board (VAB) with clients from our target market. Here’s how it might work:

An Apprenticeship or an Internship?

I was asked what the difference is between an apprenticeship and an internship. Its a great question. Here’s how i see it. An apprentice enters the relationship with little or no

Apprentice Adventures

Met for the first time with Barb, my new apprentice. A recent stroke has made a lot of research tasks challenging for me, so I figure I could train an enthusiastic genealogist to do professional quality research while she does the keyboard, microfim reader and footwork under my direction. Here’s what we discussed today

How to Blog your Next Genealogy Seminar or Conference

Precis writing, the process of reducing written or spoken information to a readable brief form is a skill taught in British schools. I used it teaching English language in Saudi Arabia. Its a good way to present succinctly thecore contents of a lecture. It lends itself nicely as an idea for bloggers at genealogy seminars and conference, AND its a great self-directed learning activity. Think about this idea then check out this link.
http://hyku.com/blog/archives/001253.html

Will you be blogging your next seminar?