Family History Month Starts with You

It is Family History Month! But, did you know it’s also American Archives Month? That’s right. And although I don’t think that it was completely intentional, I do believe that the two should most definitely be celebrated together. Why? Because, you can’t have one without the other.

Yes, the advent of online genealogical research has made access to a lot of information much, much easier. What’s better than sitting at home, at your computer, in your jammies with a hot cup of something good searching for your ancestors?  But the reality is that you can only get so far and then you have to ramp up your skills and look at real records.

(c) 2013 Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana

The place that holds and cares for those real records is an Archives. Unlike a Library, an Archives maintains original records that are unique, or one of a kind. There are all types of Archives; local, regional and national. Each one has a different collection policy and they all have policies for use.  Many of them have family historians as their main users, and without family historians coming in to look at their materials, they might not be able to stay open.

The best thing that you can do this Family History Month? Take that next step and go to a local Archives.  You don’t have to travel out of State; go to a local repository.  The more we know our local repositories, the less likely they are to be at risk without us knowing about it. 

And, if you’re not already a member of your local genealogy society, now’s the time to step up. Your local genealogy society folks probably know the ins and outs of the local repositories and can provide you with much needed information to make your trip smoother. (Not sure how to find a local Society? Check out FGS’s Society Hall!) There’s also the impact on your research of being able to tap into the collective knowledge in the group. Your local genealogy society is there to share information and support the efforts of family history researchers.

After all, we are all part of the human family. Happy Family History Month! And, don’t forget to hug an Archivist!

FGS Launches New Login and Password Information

The Federation of Genealogical Societies today launched a new Login ID and password system for its members. In response to members' requests, FGS has developed a new Login ID and password program that uses the same ID and password to access both the Members Only area of the FGS website and the newly re-launched Society Hall.

An email was sent to the primary contact and delegate for each FGS member organization in good standing today that email contains the organization's new Login ID and password. (Associate member organizations do not have delegates.) With this new information, you can access two important areas and take advantage of members-only benefits.

Members Only Area:

• The Members Only area provides access to the electronic magazine, the FGS FORUM. Member societies receive two complimentary copies of this electronic magazine published quarterly in PDF format. The archive of electronic copies are available from 1989 to present
• The archive of the FGS Voice, FGS' monthly electronic newsletter is available here.
• The Society Strategies Series papers provide suggestions and instructions for the management of genealogical societies, historical societies, and family associations. These documents are free to members and are available in PDF format.
• FGS offers a free review of societies' bylaws and make suggestions for changes and updates. Details about this service are available here.
• Details about the FGS National Insurance Program for Genealogical Societies is also available here.

Society Hall:
 
FGS issued a press release on August 18, 2010, at the 2010 FGS Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, about the re-launch of its Society Hall information service at its website. FGS members in good standing receive an enhanced listing for their organization that contains contact information, a link to its website, membership benefits, periodicals, publications, and other information. The new Login ID and password allow you to update and maintain your listing, thus providing you with yet another way to publicize your society or organization.

Members in good standing with up-to-date dues will continue to enjoy these benefits. If your genealogical society, historical society, family association, library, or genealogical vendor is not yet a member and is interested, please visit the Membership area of the FGS website at http://fgs.org/membership for more information and to join FGS.

Society Hall, the Online Directory of FGS Member Societies, Is Relaunched

The Federation of Genealogical Societies, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas, announces the re-launch today of the popular Society Hall at its website at fgs.org.

Society Hall is an informational database accessible on the Internet that can be used to locate FGS member organizations in the U.S. and abroad. This includes genealogical societies, historical societies, family associations, libraries, archives, and vendors serving the genealogical community. Thousands of people searching for information about these organizations visit Society Hall each month.

Every FGS Member society has a Society Hall listing at fgs.org/societyhall that it can edit and maintain. With the re-launching of the service, FGS has updated Society Hall listings with details from its member database. There are many fields that can be used to promote information about your organization. In addition to name, address, telephone, and email, a link can be added to the organization's website. Membership benefits and dues can be listed, as can periodicals and publications, a calendar of events, services, and pioneer/certification programs.

Member societies can access the site to edit their listing's content using an ID and password. FGS will be sending these to all Member Societies in good standing via email immediately following the conclusion of its 2010 Conference, being held this week in Knoxville, Tennessee. In addition, the ID and password will become the access key to the Members Only area of the FGS website and other content there. FGS has developed the single ID and password scheme in response to members' requests.

Ancestry.com previously hosted Society Hall at its FamilyHistory.com site. FGS has now taken over hosting responsibilities for Society Hall at its own website.

FGS Society Hall is Coming Back Soon!

The Federation of Genealogical Societies is pleased to announce that it will be relaunching its Society Hall site later this month at the FGS website at www.fgs.org. FGS Society Hall is a Web-based information facility that was graciously hosted by Ancestry.com at its FamilyHistory.com site for a number of years. However, we decided to move it to the FGS website and to substantially update the contents available there.

Society Hall allows FGS member societies to create and maintain a substantial informational listing in a central location that allows people to search for and access details about their society. Information that can be included are name, incorporation date, website, email and telephone contact information, officers, FGS delegate name, membership dues, publications, a calendar of events, and more.

We will be loading information from the FGS membership database into the new Society Hall, and will notify our current member societies via email of their login ID and password so that they can access and update their information.

At the same time, we will be changing the login ID and password to access the Members Only area of the FGS website. We will make the login access to that area identical to Society Hall, thus eliminating the need to keep track of multiple login information!

We will also be publishing an instructional handbook about effectively updating and using Society Hall. It will be placed in the Members Only area as a PDF file, and member societies can download and print a copy.

We're very excited to be reinstating and updating Society Hall! Look for an announcement in the FGS Voice blog and in the FGS Voice newsletter. If you don't get the Voice newsletter, everyone can subscribe. Simply send an email to fgsvoice@fgs.org. You'll receive an invitation email. Just reply to confirm your invitation and you'll start receiving the newsletter the next time it is published.

We're working hard to add more value to your membership!