Wednesday, May 12, is the registration deadline for the next
offering of “Genealogy 101,” an online course designed to provide
librarians and library staff with confidence and skill in assisting
family history researchers.
The course, which is offered May 17-June 18 by the Reference and User
Services Association (RUSA) and taught by RUSA member and genealogy
expert Jack Simpson, is a five-week online course aimed at librarians,
students and general reference desk staff with little or no experience
in genealogy. The course provides an introduction to American genealogy
reference service and will outline basic sources and strategies,
centered on a single case study. Topics covered include the U.S.
Census, vital records, immigration research, military research and a
variety of other basic genealogy sources. Students will also receive
instruction in reference desk strategies and tools for further
professional development. The course will cover archival material,
print reference tools and online sources.
Registration for this course is $130 for RUSA members, $175 for ALA
members, $210 for non-ALA members and $100 for students. Register
online, or download the registration form to register by fax. Group
discounts are available for two or more individuals from the same
library, library system or network registering for the same
course—download the group registration form now.
Complete descriptions of all of RUSA’s courses, instructor biographies
and registration deadlines are available at the Professional
Development section of the RUSA website. Information about all of the
professional development opportunities available from RUSA at this
summer’s ALA Annual Conference—including a full-day genealogy workshop
held at the Daughters of the American Revolution Library—can be found
in the downloadable RUSA @ Annual Conference guide.
The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American
Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the
fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development,
readers advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost
organization of reference and information professionals who make the
connections between people and the information sources, services, and
collection materials they need. Not a member, but interested in
discounted registration rates on conference, preconferences and other
events? Join, renew or add RUSA to your ALA membership at
www.ala.org/membership. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.
