Opportunities for learning abound
Genealogists should make every attempt to keep learning. No one knows everything there is to know about our hobby no matter how long they’ve been pursuing it. Even professional genealogists are constantly learning. They attend conferences, take classes, follow blogs, and eagerly learn from others all the time.
Learning more and updating your skills is easy and you have a lot of options to fit your schedule and your budget. This spring you can choose from your local genealogical society meetings (Wassebec in Piscataquis County and The County in Aroostook) and their programs which offer a wonderful opportunity to network.
If you want to learn about DNA the Maine Genealogical Society will offer a day-long workshop in Augusta on April 23 with speaker Blaine Bettinger. There’s a fee which includes lunch and you can register at maineroots.org. If you’re a member of MGS it will cost you $10 less to attend.
On May 14th the Family History Center on Grandview Avenue in Bangor will offer a free day-long conference with live sessions and video offerings from this year’s Roots Tech Conference in Salt Lake. You’ll be able to research at the facility during the conference as well. You can learn more by e-mailing Judy Reitze at jbartonreitze@yahoo.com or calling 207-447-5849.
Finally, on May 30th the Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society will be offering a day-long conference in Portland featuring D. Joshua Taylor of Genealogy Roadshow and Who Do You Think You Are? Again, there’s a fee which includes lunch and you can learn about the other speakers if you go online to www.gpcmgs.org/SMEConference or you can e-mail Paul Doucette at pdoucette3@gmail.com or call him at 207-899-9640.
If attending a workshop isn’t something you want or are able to do, you can learn right in your own home. There are online bloggers (digital columnists), classes of all stripes, and webinars (an online seminar on a particular topic). Some offerings are available to the members of a fee-based site such as The New England Historic Genealogical Society’s americanancestors.org.
Sometimes you will find webinars available free to anyone while others have a fee attached. Both are true at Legacy’s familytreewebinars.com. Legacy webinars from the makers of Legacy software also offer a one month’s membership which will allow you to pick and choose among webinars without having to commit to a full year’s membership.
And there are free webinars online. Brigham Young University offers some free genealogy classes at byu.edu/site/courses/free and FamilySearch.org/wiki has written tips available to mention only two. The quality can vary greatly among some of the sites out there so check carefully on the reputation of the company offering the class or webinar if there is a fee involved.
Cyndi’s list at www.cyndislist.com is always a great source for all things genealogy including where to find online courses. It’s a huge site and can be a little intimidating but it’s still the best single place to locate what is connected to genealogy online.
While no one could possibly keep up with every website or course offering in the genealogical world, you can find something that will increase your knowledge and I urge you to explore the opportunities.
Nancy Battick is a Dover-Foxcroft native who has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds a MA in History from UM and lives in DF with her husband, Jack, another avid genealogist. You can contact Nancy at nbattick@roadrunner.com.