[Genealib] Public Library Sponsored Family History/Genealogy Study Groups/Clubs

[Paula Manzella]

Hi,

 Our local Genealogy Club is not officially library-sponsored, however, I
have been able to act as a liaison to the Club to keep it going and I
also believe we have been successful with that partnership.

 The Club has been active on and off for 35-years or more. The "old" Club
members (1970's-80's) did cemetery transcriptions and all
kinds of records projects which were then deposited with the historical
society library and public library. The members of the more recent group
(1990's+) have not been as project oriented. When the genealogy club
suddenly lost a significant portion of their leadership in the early
2000's, the remaining members of the group chose to continue as a smaller,
informal, discussion-based group and to meet in the Library's New Jersey
Room.

 So how do we "support" them? In a nutshell, with the Local
History/Genealogy Librarian (aka, me) acting as liaison, our Library
offers monthly meeting space (meetings are always open to the public at
large) and
technology classes (Ancestry Library Edition, Internet, and
Footnote/Access Newspaper Archive). I try to be available at the beginning
of each meeting to make announcements of programs, introductions, and
reviews of new materials in the collection (i.e., books, microfilm,
databases). I also set up 2-4 genealogical or history-related programs each
year that coincided with the monthly meeting schedule. 

 Every other year, we set up a longer Saturday program that is either
genealogy- or local history based. For example, in 2007, the library had an
"Arcadia" day, where 3 authors did a panel presentation on how to organize
a book for Arcadia Publishing. In addition, authors/organizations who had
published a local Arcadia Images of... book were invited to host a table in
order to display artifacts, photos, and sell books. This year we are
putting together a morning event consisting of two 1-hour presentations and
research in the afternoon. 

 So, while the Club is not a library
organization, hosting it here gets
more people into the library (on a regular basis) and in addition, our
local history
collections are used more regularly.

Hope this helps,
Paula
Burlington County Library

 Wanda Hunter wrote: OUR LOCAL GENEALOGY SOCIETY IS NOT VERY ACTIVE. THE
GROUP DOESN'T OFFER TRAINING/WORKSHOPS FOR THE PUBLIC OR
DURING THEIR MEETINGS. NOR HAVE THEY INDICATED AN INTEREST IN PARTNERING
WITH THE
LIBRARY TO OFFER WORKSHOPS. I AM INTERESTED IN STARTING A LIBRARY
SPONSORED FAMILY HISTORY STUDY GROUP.� HAS ANYONE DONE ANYTHING
SIMILAR?� HAS IT
BEEN SUCCESSFUL? � THANKS. 

Wanda Hunter Local & State History Manager
Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center 300 Maiden Ln
Fayetteville, NC 28301-5000
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