Update to the Family History Conferences

The last week of April four major family history conferences will all happen in one week in Salt Lake City as I described in the last post.  FREE CLASSES are being made available to help Family History Consultants and workers help members find their ancestors.

Of particular note for family history consultants are classes and a fireside on Tuesday, April 27. Simply bring the Free Consultant Training Pass coupon below for access to the consultant classes. There is also no cost for attending the fireside or any of the other events listed below.

If you want to attend the NGS conference classes, price and registration information can be found here. There is an early-bird discount until March 8, 2010. 

Over 200 classes will be presented by industry leaders and experts from the local and national genealogical community as well as staff from FamilySearch. Products and services from genealogy companies will be showcased in an exhibit hall. There you can also meet with specialists for free personal consultations on research questions or problems.

NGS Conference details and the class schedule are available online here.

The following free events and resources will be available for consultants in connection with this week of conferences:

Tuesday, April 27

·         Consultant Training Seminar at the Conference Center Little Theater. There are two times to choose from: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

·         Behind-the-scenes tour of the Family History Library (all day) 

·         Behind-the-scenes tour of the new Church History Library (4:00 to 6:00 p.m.)

·         Consultant Fireside at the Salt Lake Tabernacle at 7:00 p.m. The speaker will be Elder Allan F. Packer of the First Quorum of the Seventy, who is one of the Executive Directors of the Family History Department.

Wednesday, April 28

·         FamilySearch Open House at the FamilySearch Center in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Meet and greet product managers and designers for FamilySearch’s new programs and offerings.

Wednesday, April 28–Saturday, May 1

·         GenTech Hall, an exhibit displaying the latest technological innovations for family history in the same venue as NGS, is open and free to the public.

·         The NGS Conference Exhibit Hall is open to the public daily 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. 

Thursday, April 29

·         “A Celebration of Family History” event in the Conference Center at 7:00 p.m. This evening will feature the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, along with wonderful guest speakers. Special reserved tickets for this event will be available for consultants. Instructions on how to request tickets will be e-mailed to you in the next few weeks.

Saturday, May 1

·         Genealogy Kids Camp, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Salt Palace conference venue.

Additionally:

·         Hours at the Family History Library have been extended until 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday during the conference. (Closed during the Thursday celebration.)

     

      See the details on the other conferences in the posting below.

·       

     This promises to be a full week of family history learning and activities that will be of benefit to family history consultants and enthusiasts. 

     See you there!

Use the Church HISTORY Library to enhance your FAMILY History

Are you one of many who are still trying to determine the difference between the LDS Family History Library and the new LDS Church History Library?

Lisa Christensen, an LDS Church News staff writer, published an article 18 July 2009 giving her account of "looking to add figurative flesh to the bones of [her] ancestors" Her trek through the new library covers her experience in both story and pictures of inside the new facility.

You can read the full account, and learn to use the library, by accessing her article, Seek and ye shall find — Family History revisited -- A novice's step-by-step guide to using the Church History Library.