ORGANIZING GENEALOGY SOCIETIES:

One of the best ways to help patrons learn how to research their ancestors is to encourage the formation of a genealogy society. A genealogy society can also be good for the library, as it will draw other people with the same interests. Genealogy socieities hold meetings, have guest speakers and teach each other how to do the research. They provide knowledgable people that often can be encouraged to volunteer to help other genealogy patrons. With a genealogy society using the library as a home base, the number of events and the number of patrons will increase.

Set Up a Meeting It is not hard to start a genealogy society. Set up an organizational meeting and advertise it on the marquee in front of the library. Advertise in the library newsletters, and in the local newspaper. Invite anyone interested in genealogy, and also invite a guest speaker that knows a lot about beginning genealogical research.

The First Meeting

At the first meeting, explain the library's goals in the area of genealogy. Give a tour of the facilities, talk about the collection the library has and ask for suggestions on materials to acquire. Find out what ancestral groups will be the most researched by surveying the attendees about their nationality backgrounds as well as their state of birth and their religious leanings.

Collection Development Research

Listen to the interests of the new members to gather ideas for development of a good genealogy collleciton. It is a good idea to specialize in the most popular research localities, especially when just beginning a collection. Don't forget to specialize in local history information as well, because no other library will care as much about the history of a particular town or county as much as the one that serves that area. If a large percentage of the local population has a common hertiage, be sure to specialize in the resources about that heritage and it's origins.

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Return to:

• Table of Contents
  • Organizing Societies
  • Encouraging Volunteers
  • Holding Classes and Seminars

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This website written and designed by:
Sharon Marie Centanne,
Genealogy Research Instructor and Internet Trainer
Please direct any questions to:
Sharon.

This page updated May 2, 2008

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