One of my work projects this week is my part of the syllabus for two sessions in the upcoming Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research course “Repository Research: From Website to Doorway.” See my 28 December post on this course for more details and to register for one of the seats that are still open in this live online course. I bet my fellow instructors and our coordinator, Cyndi Ingle, are also working on their syllabus parts. genealogybypaula.com/2025/12/institute-of-genealogy-and-historical-research-course-listing-and-registration-link/
As I was doing some updating and adding to the syllabus, several points kept popping into my mind about places we should visit to research our family history. The indexes that are available only in these repositories is a topic that makes me want to haul out the suitcase!
- The indexes that cover much more than the locality in which they are situated.
- As I reviewed websites of some specific genealogical society libraries, I kept finding things that weren’t there a few months ago.
- The indexes that are available on their websites.
- In some ways, it seems that various state archives are adding online finding aids more than even a year ago. Are some of them trying to keep up with each other?
- Time to add more on the old articles in genealogy and history magazines and journals that provide insight into what research materials are held at a specific repository.
Many new things to add to the syllabus!
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