Engaging speakers and informative presentations will abound at the upcoming Midwinter Institute “The Genealogy Reference Desk: Where Everyone Knows Your Name”, a full-day workshop focused on New England genealogy resources and genealogy research techniques, and  presented by the History Section of RUSA.

Genealogical research skills and tools are a vital resource for any library providing reference services. They’re particularly important in public libraries, where genealogy remains one of the most time-consuming reference duties–especially for generalist desks or libraries without genealogy or history specialists on staff—and in academic libraries, where genealogy sources are often the primary tools for helping students with local history projects. This institute, sponsored by ProQuest, will focus on the “nitty-gritty” of genealogy research. New reference librarians will benefit from the fundamental tools presented at this event; experienced genealogy librarians will find it to be an excellent refresher. The skills and resources at the core of this event are relevant to all attendees, no matter the locale of their patron’s interest.

The institute will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), held in conjunction with the ALA 2010 Midwinter Meeting. Speakers will present topics specific to New England and Colonial Research, along with general research methodology, and include:

• D. Brenton Simons, President and CEO of the NEHGS, will address “Sustainability in Genealogical Collections” and maintaining an institution during a downturn economy.
• Christine Baron, principal of Baron Consulting, will speak on the “Old North Church Project”—a NEH-funded collaborative project between the Old North  Foundation, New England Historic Genealogical Society, and HyperStudio-Laboratory for Digital Humanities at Massachusetts Institute of Technology aimed at creating an online educational program that combines public history and genealogy.
• Laura Prescott, a professional researcher, writer and speaker and consultant for Footnote.com who previously worked for NEHGS, will present “Timelines: Placing Your Heritage in Historic Perspective.”
• Drew Smith, one of the Genealogy Guys, owner of the Genealib listserv and an information literacy librarian at the University of South Florida, will be speaking on “Using Web 2.0 Tools with a 101 Knowledge Base”.
• David Dearborn, of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and a New England specialist, will present “An Overview of American Colonial Records”.

Founded in 1845 and located at 99 Newbury Street, Boston, NEHGS is the country’s oldest nonprofit genealogical organization in the country.  Located in the heart of the Boston’s beautiful Back Bay neighborhood, their eight-story library and archive is one of the nation’s leading research centers for genealogists and family historians of every skill level. The institute will conclude with a tour of this beautiful facility for participants only.

Interested participants can register for this event only, or can register in conjunction with Midwinter Meeting registration by adding it as a ticketed event. For institute-only registration using the online form (login required), select “Institute and Ticketed Events Only” as the registration type, and proceed to select this event from the list.

Advance registration for the meeting and this event opens Oct. 1 and ends Dec. 4, 2009. Advance registration prices for this event are $100 for RUSA members,  $145 for ALA members, $75 for retired and student members, and $220 for non-ALA members. On-site registration, priced at $125 for RUSA members, $170 for ALA members, $100 for retired and student members, and $245 for non-ALA members, will be available until Friday, Jan. 8. All interested participants are strongly encouraged to register by Jan. 8, as only a handful of seats will be available at the door on the day of the event.

Register online now!