Newark NJ: Jewish Chronicle searchable online

Tracing the Tribe's TALALAY family became variously TOLLIN, TALLIN, TOLL, TAYLOR and FEINSTEIN.

The TOLLIN and TALLIN families settled in Newark, New Jersey (two brothers). Another TOLLIN branch was in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1899, and in Boston a few years later. TAYLOR went to Cleveland, and four TALALAI brothers went from Mogilev to Baku to Philadelphia where they took their sister's husband's name of FEINSTEIN and have been lost since.

A new online resource is the Jewish Chronicle of Newark NJ, which can be accessed at GenealogyBank.

The records include all sorts of social events ("hatch, match and dispatch"), community events, news of immigrant associations, local and international issues and much more.

GenealogyBank is for-fee, but the free search will produce small bits of the articles, usually enough to learn if it is relevant for your purposes.

Tracing the Tribe believes that all for-fee sites should offer free searching with snippets of the results. Learning what a site offers is the first step in deciding whether or not to allocate funds for that subscription!

A quick search showed that there were more than 6,000 mentions of TOLLIN, a few of TALLIN. Many of the first variant were from long before my great-grandfather Aron Peretz Talalai arrived there in 1905, but the ones from that time are very interesting, with many relevant results. The paper was published from 1921 until 1943, covering a major portion of the time that my family lived in that city.

GenealogyBank's resources cover newspapers in many states, and Tracing the Tribe found known family mentions in Massachusetts, Pennsyvania and Delaware publications.

Intrigued by anything with a Springfield origin, I found very detailed information on Max Tollin (Mendl Talalai), the first Jewish builder in the town, who constructed the first two homes for the aging, the Kodimoh synagogue and its cemetery. His children were also seen in many results.

In Newark, we saw results for the Mohliver Benevolent Society - Mohliver referring to Mogilev, Belarus - founded by friends and cousins of my great-grandfather, Aron Peretz Talalai TOLLIN.

Not to be outdone, the TOLLIN records in Philadelphia and Delaware were also quite detailed.

Long ago, when I was attempting to track down Mogilev-origin Tollins, I thought I was on the right track with Aron Tollin. However, he told me they were really Tolchinsky. The family's petition for a name change was one of the records in the results, confirming his story.

Where else can you access this paper? The Newark Public Library also has copies, as does the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest. There is also some information on the Jewish Chronicle ot Chronicling America: Historical American Newspapers.

For more information, click here for a recent NJ Jewish News story about the archive.

Since GenealogyBank is free to search, what are you waiting for? In fact, there is now a discounted subscription  offer available now.

Ask an Archivist Day, June 9

Ever heard of Ask Archivists Day? On June 9, readers around the world can ask questions of worldwide archivists via Twitter.

Readers will need a Twitter account to participate, and then remember #AskArchivists, the hashtag for the event. Already have a Twitter account? Then follow @AskArchivists.

Click here for the list of participating archives in North America (some 36 and growing). This list - at the AskArchivists Blog - also offers all the Twitter addresses for those archives.

Here's how it will work: Tweet a question, including the #AskArchivists hashtag, on June 9. Point your question to any archivist participating or to one archive (by including their Twitter address, such as the US National Archives @USNatArchives. Follow @AskArchivists and look for the answer.

Read more about the event at the AskArchivists Blog (link above). [Note: Be aware that there is another Archivists blog (International Institute on Archives) mostly in French, with some posts in English.]

What questions do you want to ask?

New Mexico: Genealogy 'superstars' to speak, April 2-3

New Mexico family history researchers are in for a treat when two major genealogy superstars will speak on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3.

Bennett Greenspan (left) - founder and CEO of FamilyTreeDNA.com - and Dr. Steve Morse - of One-Step pages fame - will be in Albuquerque next weekend to speak at two major events, co-sponsored by the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society, which is revamping and expanding its genealogy programming. The NMJHS is now a member of the IAJGS.

-- Saturday, April 2, from 10.30am-3.30pm, the Rio Rancho Library's Loma Colorado main branch will host a free "Blast Into Your Past" - a general program aimed at beginners and recent family history researchers, athough the entire genealogical community is invited to attend.

-- Sunday, April 3, from 11am-1pm, the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque will host both speakers for sessions spotlighting Jewish issues and topics in genetic genealogy with Bennett, and One-Step helpful tools, such as demystifying the Jewish calendar, with Steve. The program is open to the public and all are invited to attend.

See below for more information on each event.

Judging from responses already received by organizers, attendees will be coming from many areas of the state for both sessions.

"Blast Into Your Past" will provide a good basic introduction to family history with the superstars and local experts. Beginning at 10.30am and running through 3.30pm - attendees should bring a brown-bag lunch - there will be an introduction to genetic genealogy with Bennett Greenspan, followed by Steve Morse's intro to the more than 200+ tools on his site.

After a short lunch break, there will be three additional sessions:

-- Michael Barger will present genealogy basics.
-- An ethnic research panel (Hispanic, Jewish, and others) will field questions from attendees and supply information on how to find additional information. Lionel Rael of the Hispanic Genealogy Society will be on this panel, along with others.
-- Social media for family history researchers will be presented by Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

There will also be an overview of genealogical resources at the library, including databases and subscription sites available in the computer lab or accessible at home for library card holders.

There will be time for Q&A.

On Sunday, April 3, both men will speak at the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque from 11am-1pm. Bennett will address genetic genealogy through a focus on Jewish history and share stories of discoveries, while Steve will focus on One-Step tools that may assist Jewish family history researchers, such as demystifying the Jewish calender.

Again, the library program is free and its general topics are aimed at beginners and those who are recent to family history research. The JCC program - with more of a Jewish genealogy focus - is free for NMJHS members, and $5 for others (the fee may be applied to a one-year NMJHS membership).

We believe that many attendees on Saturday will want to know more about these topics and will also attend the Sunday program, which is open to the public.

The NMJHS, the Library and New Mexico genealogical community is looking forward to this "superstar" weekend. I'm looking forward to greeting Tracing the Tribe readers at both events.

For more information, click on the NMJHS website, or send an email.

Nevada: Ancestry.com programs, February 19-20

Tracing the Tribe readers in the Las Vegas area will hear Crista Cowan of Ancestry.com speak on both sides of town, on Saturday-Sunday, February 19-20, sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Southern Nevada.

On Saturday at 10am, she will speak at the Paseo Verde Library, 208 S. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson, focusing on  "Getting the Most Out of your Ancestry.com Subscription."

On Sunday at 1pm, she will speak at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas., where her topic will be "Tips and Tricks to Research Online Like a Professional."

The Sunday two-hour program will detail some of the website's 30,000+ databases.  Cowan will share her go-to sources as well as some lesser-known gems sure to help you grow your family tree. The interactive program will utilize personal and audience case studies.

A drawing will be held for a free Family Tree Maker 2011 software package. Each attendee who turns in a completed evaluation form will also be eligible for a drawing for a free one-year, World Deluxe, Ancestry.com subscription. 

Cowan has been involved in family history research for more than 20 years and actively engaged in client research since 2002.  Her specialties include descendancy research, Jewish immigration and sharing family history with the genealogically challenged. She has been an Ancestry.com employee since 2004.

For more information, send an email.

Archives.com: Family history grant program

Whether you are a newbie or professional research or connected to a library, historical society or archive, a new family history grant program may be just the ticket to help with your family history research or historical preservation project.

The Archives.com family history grant program will begin providing monthly awards of up to $1,000 at the end of January. US-based individuals and organizations are eligible to apply.

The mission of the grant is to help fund important individual and communal initiatives that contribute to the promotion and advancement of family history research and historical preservation. Project examples may include preservation of historical documents, restoration of culturally significant artifacts, transcription of records, promotion of awareness of historical events, or others.

CEO Matthew Monahan said “Now we are going one step further by establishing the Archives.com Grant Program so that valuable research projects do not perish due to lack of funding. We aim to level the playing field so that anyone can embark on the preservation projects that matter to them because family history shouldn’t be a hobby solely for the rich and famous.”

According to the press release:

Grant recipients may come from all walks of life, and may be individuals or community-based organizations. Specifically, Archives is seeking any project that contributes to the promotion and advancement of family history research and preservation. Examples include projects related to document preservation, artifact restoration, record transcription, and promotion of historical events.

Grant recipients will be chosen monthly and awarded up to $1,000 to fund their project. Archives encourages every person or organization in the U.S. to apply, whether a newbie, hobbyist, expert, or community group, like a historical society, library, or archive.

"Archives is excited to continue investing in the community, as we believe there are few things more important than the exploration and preservation of our history, culture, and heritage," said Director of Product Joe Godfrey. "Undoubtedly, the Archives.com Grant Program will prove to be an important resource for a diverse group of family historians and organizations."

Read the complete press release at the link above. For more information, click on the application page, the online process is simple, and asks for detailed answers to only four questions. If you have more questions, send an email.

Don't know what Archives.com is?

Archives.com is a leading family history Web site that makes discovering family history simple and affordable. The company has assembled more than 1.1 billion historical records – birth, death, marriage, divorce, census, obituary, immigration, military and more – all in a single location, and makes them available at a price that’s up to 80 percent less than the leading competitor. Archives also partners with other leading family history websites to provide integrated record collections, discounted memberships, official certificates and other special promotions – providing a comprehensive resource for researching your family history.

The site is free to try for seven days, allowing anyone to explore the benefits of membership without risk or obligation. Learn more at Archives.com.

WDYTYA: Second NBC season starts February 4

Who Do You Think You Are? starts its second NBC season on Friday, February 4.

The original UK series spawned an entire genealogy-to-the-masses industry, and we may be well on our way on this side of the pond as well.

Most US-based genealogists believe the family history craze began here after Roots was published and then aired as a television series. It gave us hope that we could also investigate our own unique families.

The first season spurred awareness in the US, and the second season should continue the process of encouraging viewers to think about their own family histories.

The show only shows the results, so viewers are looking for help in how they can also find relevant information. Across the US, many viewers contacted their local libraries, archives and genealogy societies. 

Many geneabloggers discussed the ramifications of the American version of the show before it aired. Many of us made the point that on-the-ground local societies could receive the benefits by providing information to those who came knocking at their door for information.

A review of geneablog posts and Ancestry.com's own communications indicate several tips to build on the popularity of the show.

These include: 

• A society open house or beginners' workshop. While the majority of viewers may be newcomers, even experts and seasoned researchers found important information in certain episodes. Ancestry suggests that societies invite their members, community and local media to an open house during the premiere.  
• Contact local media. Talk to local newspapers and TV stations about how people can get started and how your society can help. One idea might be to research the ancestry of a local newsperson. The San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society indicated that their local NBC affiliate publicized their event, filmed the society's library and conducted live interviews at two news slots.  
• Encourage members to spread the word. Those who are already passionate about family history and the most enthusiastic are often the best spokespersons. use Facebook, Twitter and blogs to llet people know about activities in conjunction with the new series.
• Prepare materials for beginners. Create a one-page “Getting Started in Family History” handout to handout through your group or activity. Encourage your local library to distribute a flyer or guide for their patrons and/or on their websites. And let people know via social media about the guide and where to get a copy. 
• Why should newcomers join your group? Planning a special event, offering workshops, media interviews, and other community events will provide interested audiences who will be receptive to an intro to your society and how it can help them. What about offering a limited-time membership discount?
• Brainstorm ideas with your society. How can your group increase local interest in the show as well as your society?  

According to a communication from Ancestry.com:

All in all, “Who Do You Think You Are?” continues to present the genealogy community with a golden opportunity to revolutionize, reshape, and redefine family history as a whole. It’s an opportunity to grow and strengthen societies, to infuse our community with younger audiences who can become the next generation of family historians, and to educate the public about what family history is and how to successfully research their heritage.

What will your society do to celebrate the show's new season?

Columbia University: $4 million for Jewish Studies

New Yorkers interested in all aspects of Jewish studies will have something new to access for information.

The Columbia University Libraries have received a gift of $4 million to establish the Norman E. Alexander Library for Jewish Studies. It will fund endowments for a Jewish Studies librarian, the General Jewish Studies Collection and Special Collections in Judaica.

Michelle Chesner is the new Librarian for Jewish Studies is Michelle Chesner. Previously she was at the University of Pennsylvania as an archivist and Judaica Public Services Librarian at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. Her research interests include 15th century Jewish history and early Hebrew books.

Special collections at the Jewish Studies library include 29 Hebrew incunabula, more than 30016th-century printed books, and nearly 1,500 Hebrew manuscripts, plus extensive archival collections related to Jewish life and culture, and Jewish individuals in all fields of study and work.

Key components were acquired in 1947 (the Oko-Gebhardt Spinoza Collection, nearly 4,000 books by and about the Dutch Jewish philosopher) and in 2009 (the papers of Yosef Yerushalmi, Columbia faculty member and scholar of Jewish history). New endowment funds will be used initially to catalog the Hebrew manuscripts, the second largest such collection in North America.

Jewish Studies collections at Columbia offer more than 100,000 monograph volumes, 1,000 current and historical periodical titles, about 60,000 Hebrew and Yiddish titles and large holdings of Jewish scholarly works in Western and Slavic languages. It also subscribes to relevant electronic titles, ebooks and databases. It is the only New York City repository for the Visual History Archive of the Shoah Foundation.

Read more here about Norman E. Alexander and the endowments. Learn more about the Columbia University Libraries/Information Services here.

New Jersey: Intro to genealogy for teens, Nov. 23

In an effort to get teens involved in genealogy, the Clifton (New Jersey) Public Library will offer a special introduction session on Tuesday, Nov. 23.

The program runs from 4-5pm at the Main Memorial Library. Coming only a few days before Thanksgiving, a traditional family-gathering holiday, it might spur the participants into asking questions of their senior relatives during the holiday weekend.

Attendees will learn how to start a search, how to create a family tree and how the library's resources can help them.

This is how it was billed:

Teens – did you ever wonder where your family came from or how they ended up where you live now? If you answered, yes, than you’ve been bitten by the genealogy bug. Your past is a twisted and winding road that can be hard to follow but don’t give up your hunt because the library is here to help.

No registration is necessary. For more information, click here.

Boston: NEHGS new visitor tour, Oct. 6

The New England Historical Genealogical Society will offer a new visitor and welcome tour on Wednesday, October 6.

Learn all about the NEHGS and its resources at a free lecture for members and others, from 10-11:30am, at 99-101 Newbury St., Boston.

Starting your family genealogy can seem a little daunting at first. There is so much information found in a variety of locations. Let NEHGS help you make sense of it all by attending this FREE lecture for both members and non-members. This talk introduces you to the NEHGS research library.

Founded in 1845, it is the country’s oldest and largest non-profit genealogy library and archive. With more than 15 million artifacts, books, manuscripts, microfilms, journals, photographs, records, and other items, NEHGS can provide researchers of every level some of the most important sources of information.

Participants will be able to describe research interests to a staff genealogist, who will provide advice. The session begins with a half-hour intro talk, followed by a tour of the library and its holdings.

For more information, visit AmericanAncestors.org.

Jewish genealogy books online

ProGenealogists.com blog noted Genealogy Book Links, a site with nearly 20,000 titles and 7,500 for biography and family genealogy.

Books are arranged by topic, surname, locality and type.

A retired librarian, Mollie, began to construct a searchable website for free online books about three years ago. Genealogy Book Links went live in December 2007, and she adds 300-500 new titles each week.

Read the Progenealogists.com blog post for more.

In the Jewish section of Mollie's site, find these helpful resources for early settlement in the US:

-- American Jewish Year Book (American Jewish Committee, JPS) 1907 1908 1916 1922

-- Early history of the Jews in NY, 1654-1664: Oppenheim, Sam. Cor

-- Eminent Jews of America: S. B. Goodkind (American Hebrew Biographical Company, Inc. 1918 Goo

--Hebrew Union College: Kaufmann Kohler (Ark, 1916) OpL

-- Twenty-fifth anniversary of the first graduation: Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 27-28, 1908 (May & Kreidler, 1908) OpL

-- The International Jewish Cook Book: 1600 Recipes: Florence Kreisler Greenbaum (NY 1919) MSU

-- Jewish immigration to the United States from 1881 to 1910: Samuel Joseph (Columbia Univ., 1914) OpL

-- Jewish Memories: Lucette Valensi, Nathan Wachtel, trans. Barbara Harshav (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991) UCP

-- The Jews in America: Madison Clinton Peters (Phila, 1905) Har

-- The Jews of Philadelphia: Their history from the earliest settlements: Henry Samuel Morais (1894) Har

-- Memorial volume: Leo N. Levi (Hamburger Print. Co., 1905) OpL

-- Old Jewish Cemeteries (South Carolina): Barnett Abraham Elzas, 1867-1936 19--?]S.C.? Har

-- Papers, Jewish Women's Congress; Chicago, September 4-7, 1893: (1894) Goo

-- The Russian Jew in the United States: Studies of Social Conditions in New York, Philadelphia, and...: Charles Seligman Bernheimer (1905) Goo

-- The Settlement of the Jews in North America: Charles P. Daly (1893) Har

-- Statement by Henry Ford Regarding Charges Against Jews, Made in His Publications, the Dearborn Independent, and a Series of Pamphlets Entitled "The International Jew," Together With an Explanatory Statement by Louis Marshall, President, American Jewish Committee, and his reply to Mr. Ford: Henry Ford, Louis Marshall (1927) AJC

-- The 250th anniversary of the settlement of the Jews in the US 1655-1905: (NY Co-operative Society 1906) Har

-- Why Am I a Jew? Discourse Delivered Before Sinai Congregation Chicago,1895: Emil Gustav Hirsch (1895) Goo

Check out the other resources at Genealogy Book Links.

Chicago: Success session, August 29

Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois members will report on their family history research successes on Sunday, August 29.

Researchers will also share how they discovered their "finds," and the Ask the Experts panel will also chime in. Attendees are encouraged to bring a success story to share.

The program begins at 2pm at Temple Beth Israel, Skokie, although doors open at 12.30pm for library access, assistance and networking.

For more information, see the JGSI website.

UK: Manchester archive in temporary space

A major Jewish archive in a British city has been temporarily moved as its permanent home is under a three-year renovation closure.

The Jewish Chronicle story adds that the material was in Manchester's Central Library which will be closed for the project. The Manchester City Council averted a serious problem for Jewish studies students and researchers.

Archives documenting the history of Manchester's Jewish community have been moved from the library as part of a four-month transfer of one million books, cleared from over 20 miles of shelves. The process, completed last Friday, included the moving of 300 metres of shelves of Jewish documents, which contain burial records dating back to 1798, and records from four Jewish schools and the Great Synagogue dating from the 1850s.

To maintain open access for academics and to Jewish genealogists, the archive will be housed temporarily in the Greater Manchester County Record Office.

When at the Central Library, material requests were filled in 30 minutes. In the temporary location, requests may take two days or two weeks, in some cases.

The website of Manchester Council has a special section on Jewish records, with a 35-page Jewish archival catalogue for download.

According to the Central Library's archivist, Kevin Bolton:

"We made an effort not to send the Jewish archive collections off-site. This is because they are some of the most important collections we hold and they are well used. Both the Jewish Museum and Bill Williams (the major historian of Manchester Jewry) were kept informed of our decisions."

The cooperation of the Manchester City Council - in providing continued access for researchers and Jewish genealogists to these important materials - is to be commended.

Boston: NEHGS launches AmericanAncestors.org

The venerable New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, has launched AmericanAncestors.org, the new website of the expanding and growing regional and national repository of genealogical resources.

Information below is from the press release. I accessed the site several times today but cannot load it now, most likely due to a heavy usage.

The site will contain all of NEHGS's New England and New York content, features, articles, resources, in addition to weekly updates and databases in regional and ethnic specialties, such as sources for mid-Atlantic, Irish, and African American research. The website provides access to 2,400 databases containing 135 million names. Many databases are restricted to members who pay $75 annually, but there is a free section.

The new site provides online access to important research tools and resources, a new image viewer, faster navigation, faster search results and more unique content. Society members and the public will benefit from the improvements. The oldest and largest non-profit genealogical organization has some 26,000 members nationwide.

NEHGS president/CEO D. Brenton Simons said:

"This website marks a transformative experience in our 165-year history, the first genealogical society founded in America. It represents the next major step ahead as we continue to expand our resources." Simons added, "AmericanAncestors.org is a new, dynamic platform from which we will grow in our position as a leader in American genealogy and as the nation’s largest genealogical society."

He added that New England will always be the greatest strength and primary focus, and that the new site will add 25 million more New England names to search. According to the press release, the site will provide:

-- More unique, searchable materials for New England, New York, and other regions.
　
-- A new "master search" to search across all databases and other web-based content, faster results and easier navigation.
　
-- A social networking feature for NEHGS members to develop an online profile, input family research information, and share it with others.

-- A state-of-the-art new image viewer for easier saving and viewing of images and data.
　
-- More news on the homepage and an enhanced blog - "The Daily Genealogist" - to provide stories and helpful research tips

Readers are invited to sign up for the NEHGS "Guest User" free registration for access to weekly news stories, special access to some databases, resources, articles and other research tools. Read more at AmericanAncestors.org.

"American Ancestors" is the new brand identity for NEHGS. In October 2009, it began publishing "American Ancestors Journal," an annual supplement to its quarterly "The New England Historical and Genealogical Register," while its quarterly member magazine was renamed (earlier this year) "American Ancestors: New England, New York, and Beyond."

Located at 99-101 Newbury St., Boston, NEHGS has some 28 million books, journals, manuscripts, papers, photographs, documents, and other artifacts, many centuries-old.

Washington DC: 'DC resources' newest edition

Happy 30th anniversary to the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington!

The society has pubished the new updated and expanded fifth edition of “Capital Collections: Resources for Jewish Genealogical Research in the Washington, DC Area.”

Planning a trip to the nation's capitol? Researching the area or live there? This 116-page guide is essential in so many ways.

Resources, phone numbers, websites and security information is updated; new sites are added. There's even a section on public transport, including a DC Metro system map.

The 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will be in Washington DC in August 2011, and this guide will be invaluable for those planning research in conjunction with that event.

Contents include:

-- ARCHIVES I
-- ARCHIVES II
-- NATIONAL RECORDS CENTER (WNRC) New!
-- THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
-- U. S. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM
-- NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH MILITARY HISTORY
-- DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (DAR) LIBRARY
-- FAMILY HISTORY CENTERS
-- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
-- HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE LIBRARY
-- U. S. NAVY MEMORIAL AND HERITAGE CENTER New!
-- THE NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER New!
-- MARYLAND including: Annapolis, Baltimore City, Baltimore County Eastern Shore, Frederick County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
-- VIRGINIA including Northern Virginia and Richmond
-- SYNAGOGUES & CHAVUROT
-- CEMETERIES IN THE WASHINGTON AREA
-- CEMETERIES IN THE BALTIMORE AREA

Spiral-bound, it lies flat for easy use, and would be very useful for genealogy libraries. Price per copy: $25 (including shipping/handling in the US); or, for JGSGW members only, $15 (includes shipping/handling in the US).

To order, send a check, payable to the JGS of Greater Washington Inc., to:

The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington, Inc.
P.O. Box 1614
Rockville, Maryland 20849
Att: Capital Collections

For shipment outside the US or more questions, contact the JGSGW.

Seattle: Jewish library conference begins

Tracing the Tribe is now in Seattle at the Association of Jewish Libraries conference.

I'm helping Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage.com at the conference, which opened today. People were coming by even before the event officially opened.

Attendees are librarians, archivists and educators at universities, congregations, day schools and elsewhere, in the US and Israel. Some are active in their local Jewish genealogical and historical societies.

It was really interesting seeing so many people who knew about Tracing the Tribe, and many who told us that their users ask them how to start genealogy research.

There were friends of cousins who live here in Seattle, as well as those from many cities who knew one or more of our Dardashti cousins. Monday night, I'm seeing the cousins and going to a birthday barbeque for my cousin Charlie.

Daniel will present "Technology and Museums: A Success Story to Retrieve Information," discussing the partnership between MyHeritage.com and Beit Hatfutsot (Museum of the Jewish People) to grow the museum's collection of Jewish family trees.

Among the familiar faces at the conference is Zvi Bernhardt of Yad Vashem, who will also be speaking later this month at JGSLA 2010, July 11-16.

The keynote speaker tonight was the very animated and interesting Joseph Janes, author and associate professor at the Information School of the University of Washington, who attempted to explain how different libraries are today in the digital age, how some things are the same and what may be coming down the road.

One great quote was that in the old days, when one said "research," it meant standing up and going to get the necessary information. Today, the perception of the term is that research and resources will come to the person who needs it, through the Internet.

While we of a certain generation - likely anyone over 30 - tend to think externally about research, today's students, who have grown up with computers and other electronic information devices since childhood (unlike adults who had to learn the technology), are "wired" for multi-tasking and they think internally about research.

Today the conference focused on meetings and newcomer sessions; tomorrow, the sessions start and Daniel and I will each try to attend sessions of personal interest.

Sephardic topics include:

-- Shulamith Berger will speak on the "Sephardic Collections at Yeshiva University'," in its Mendel Gottesman Library, focusing on the Ladino book collection. It contains several hundred rare Ladino books, which were recently catalogued and microfilmed.

-- Amalia Levi will speak on "Archiving Balkan Jews: Reclaiming the 'Sephardic Homeland' through social media, discuss how social media can be used to unite historians and scholars and how it can promote the creation of online archives for Sephardic studies.

-- Hazzan Isaac Azose will speak on the history of the Seattle Sephardic community.

-- Julia Eulenberg will present the history of Jewish businessmen in the Western US from the 19th century, and describe how she gathered the information.

On Tuesday, a session on Jewish history and economics includes Marlene Schiffman's "How Jews got their last names in Europe in the 18th-19th centuries. A session on Jewish archives collaboration is "Building a Successful Jewish History Archive Through Collaboration: The Washington State Jewish Historical Society Archive.," with a panel from the JHS.

There will be sessions on Yiddish culture, focusing on Yiddish Theater in Argentina and Yiddish Publishing in Winnipeg.

In "Resources at Yad Vashem," Zvi Bernhardt will speak on two topics:

-- "Yad Vashem Reference and Information Services: On Integrating 'Corporate Cultures" in a Reference Setting," as it discusses the combining of Yad Vashem's reference service units (library, archive, photo archive and the Hall of Names.). He'll talk about difficulties in combining the various departments including resistance of some staff and administration to the change, and how the departments have evolved to better fulfil the needs of the public.

-- "Resources at Yad Vashem: Online and Offline" will address the organization's resources, including the database of Shoah Victims' Names, photo archive, library catalog, Shoah Resource Center, scholarly articles and stories of the Righteous among nations, as well as its online services for the public such as basic research, genealogical and scholarly research and more.

Zvi will also be speaking at the 30th IAJGS International Conference of Jewish Genealogy (JGSLA 2010) later this month, from July 11-16, in Los Angeles.

Yoram Bitton will present "Columbia University's Hebrew Rare Book and Manuscript Collection," featuring thousands of of items, mostly from the 12th-19th centuries. It was unknown to the scholarly community until the unversity began cataloging it.

Rachel Misrati of the National Library of Israel will speak on "Who's Been Using my Archives: A Historical User-Study of Personal Archive Users" in the NLI's Archives department. There are some 400 personal archives in this department.

Social media is also a focus, with Heidi Estrin and Diane Romm presenting AJL and the social web, discussing the organization's online presence, including website, blog, podcast, Facebook page and more.

There's a session on the huge digitizing project at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has covered more than 10 million pages. Michlean Amir will discuss problems of storage, access, quality control, restriction issues and future plans.

Next year's AJL conference will take place in Montreal, June 29-22, 2011. The theme is "Cultural Diversity/Cultural Mosaic: From Bagels to Borekas."

New York: Samberg High School Program

Are you interested in getting your children, grandchildren or other members of the younger generations involved in the pursuit of family history?

The Center for Jewish History offers an academic summer fellowship for high school students each summer.

The Samberg Family History Program runs June 28-July 23 this summer.

The program is a multi-faceted exploration of Jewish history and the participants' families pasts.

It draws upon all resources at the CJH, including its world-renowned collections of books, archival documents, photographs, artifacts, paintings, films, sound recordings and textiles. It involves the Center's expert curators, archivists, and librarians, as well as historians and educators.

The Samberg Family Foundation provides full tuition fellowships to all participants, who are recognized as Samberg High School Fellows:

As a Fellow, you are both a student, learning a subject, and an apprentice, pursuing research into the Jewish past alongside the worldwide community of academics, genealogists, and others who come to use the collections housed at the Center for Jewish History.

The program is co-sponsored by the CJH's Genealogy Institute and the American Jewish Historical Society.

Although the program begins in a few days, there may be a few spots still open, so contact them to learn more.

New York: Center for Jewish History expands hours

The Center for Jewish History in Manhattan holds excellent resources and books for family history researchers.

From Sunday, June 6, access will be even better as the Lillian Goldman Reading Room and the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute will be open six days a week enabling more people to use it. Sunday hours will be from 11am-4pm and all electronic resources and reference collections will be available.

The center is at 15 West 16th Street, New York City.

CJH also holds the archival and library collections of American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute and the library of YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. These resources will be available on Sundays upon request.

To request Sunday access, apply by 5pm on the prior Thursday. Click here to learn more or become a registered user. Search for the materials to request; click the "Reserve" link (left side of record item). Fill out the fields and the request will be processed. If you have a problem in regard to materials or a request, send an email or call 212-294-8301.

The CJH is also open Mondays, 9.30am-7.30pm; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 9.30am-5.30pm; and Fridays, 9.30am-1.30pm. YIVO archival collections are available Monday-Thursday, 9.30am-5pm.

For more information, click here.

Historic Newspapers: 40 million pages to digitize

A partnership between the British Library and online publisher brightsolid will digitize some 40 million pages of historic newspapers over 10 years.

According to the press release, brightsolid (FindMyPast, AncestorsOnboard, Friends Reunited and GenesReunited) is taking on the project's commercial and technical risks, with no direct costs to the British Library.

Some important points from the press release:

-- The firm will digitize content from the British Library Newspaper Library, which it will then make available online via a subscription website to launch next year. It will be available for free to users onsite at the British Library.

-- The goal, according to the press release, is to build a ‘critical mass’ of material for researchers – particularly in the fields of family history and genealogy."

-- The project will include out-of-copyright material from the
newspaper archive – pre-1900 newspaper material – and the partnership will also seek to digitize in-copyright material, with the agreement of relevant rightsholders. This copyrighted material will, with the publishers' express permission, be made available on the planned website.

-- The Library’s newspaper hard-copy collections will be moved from the current building at Colindale to a purpose-built storage facility (£33m funding) in Boston Spa, West Yorkshire. Access to the collection will be via microfilm and digital copies at the Library’s main site at St Pancras from 2012. Read more here.

-- It will help the collection remain relevant for a new generation of researchers, who are more used to accessing information via laptops than travelling to a physical location.

Copies of scanned materials will be held in the library in perpetuity.

Parts of this resource will be available online for the first time. The Library's collection spans 350 years and includes 52,000 local, regional, national and international titles. Its Newspaper Library in North London is used by 30,000 researchers in many subjects, including family history and genealogy, and the resources are mostly hard copy and microfilm.

A minimum of 4 million pages will be digitized in the first two years.

The Library's Dame Lynne Brindley outlined how the partnership will transform access to this collection and added that the success of the 19th Century British Library Newspapers website demonstrated the public’s huge appetite for digitized historic newspaper content:

“Historic newspapers are an invaluable resource for historians, researchers, genealogists, students and many others, bringing past events and people to life with great immediacy and in rich detail. Mass digitisation unlocks the riches of our newspaper collections by making them available online to users across the UK and around the world; by making these pages fully searchable we will transform a research process which previously relied on scrolling through page after page of microfilm or print. brightsolid have an excellent track record of digitising archive materials and making them available to new audiences – I look forward to announcing the web service resulting from this partnership, which will launch and then steadily grow from next year.”

Digitized material will include extensive coverage of local, regional and national press across some 350 years, and will focus on specific geographic areas, along with periods such as the census years between 1841 and 1911. Other categories will be developed.

It will help the newspaper collection to remain relevant for a new generation of researchers, more used to accessing research information via their laptop than travelling to a physical location.”

Chris Paton's Scottish Ancestry has a five-minute video of the announcement.

Tracing the Tribe looks forward to more information on the planned new subscription website.

WPA: Historical Records Survey and genealogists

Do we, as family historians and genealogists, realize how the WPA's Historical Records Survey has helped us?

Leland Meitzler's Genealogy Blog provided an article by reference librarian Bryan L. Mulcahy of the Fort Myers-Lee County Library that detailed how one aspect of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) - the Historical Records Survey - created inventories and records of use to the entire genealogy community.

The WPA was the largest project created as a relief program during the aftermath of the Great Depression of 1929.

Workers visited archives, historical societies and libraries to compile manuscript collection inventories. They visited courthouses, town halls, offices in large cities and vital statistics offices to inventory records, and also transcribed some.

Among the databases created by the Survey were:

•Burial listing in cemeteries •Federal and state census indexes •Indexes to naturalization records
•Indexes to Newspapers
•Inventories of county courthouse records
•Descriptions of manuscripts found in various libraries
•Place-name guides
•Inventories of church records including years/content of church christening records, and names of those buried in church cemeteries

Most researchers have used many of these collections. Although the majority of materials survived, and are available to researchers, some records and indexes were deemed to be of no value and were destroyed.

Read the complete article at Leland's blog above.

Illinois: Midwest Jewish Genealogy Conference, June 6

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois will present a one-day Jewish genealogy conference, "From the Shtetl to the 21st Century," on Sunday, June 6, in Skokie.

The venue is Temple Beth Israel, 3601 W. Dempster.

The full-day event, from 8am-5.15pm, features experienced instructors on topics to expand knowledge of genealogical resources, including a two-part Beginners’ Workshop. Fifteen sessions are scheduled - three each in five time slots.

Key note speaker Ron Arons is a nationally known expert on Jewish criminals, Jewish genealogy and research techniques. He will demonstrate new ways to use the Internet to find family information in  “Online Jewish Genealogy Beyond JewishGen and Steve Morse.” During lunch, he'll share how his interest in Jewish criminals led to his book - “The Jews of Sing Sing” - and he'll also lead a mapping techniques session.

Other presenters will be Judith R. Frazin, Harriet Rudnit, Abby and Bill Schmelling, Ralph Beaudion, Leslye Hess, Robin Seidenberg, Irwin Lapping, Alvin Holtzman, Louisa Nicotera, Everett L. Butler and Mike Karsen.

Sessions include: Beginners' Genealogy Workshop, Using the Internet to Research Your Family History, Travel to Your Ancestral Shtetl, Find That Obituary Online, Holocaust Research in Libraries and Internet, Polish Translation Guide, Mining for Gold: Online Newspapers, Waldheim Cemetery, Basics of DNA Testing, Mapping Techniques, Cook County Genealogy Online, Genealogy Research Reasoning, Write Your Family History Now, and Ask the Experts.

Fee: Before May 15, fees are: Members of any Jewish genealogical society, $45; others, $50, Conference plus JGSI membership (new member only), $70. After May 15, each category increases by $10.

The JGSI library with hundreds of books will be available. Refreshments and a box lunch food will all be kosher. The synagogue is wheelchair accessible and has an elevator.

Tracing the Tribe also believes that this event could be considered a great lead-in and preparation for the main event of the Jewish genealogy year, the 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy - JGSLA 2010 - which runs from July 11-16, in Los Angeles.

Download an event brochure, and find more program details, at the JGSIllinois website.