Mark Your Calendars - UVPAFUG Meeting!

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 9 Jan 2010, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "RED" CHURCH AT 4050 North 650 East (Timpview Drive), Provo, Utah. NOTE THE CHANGE OF LOCATION. This chapel is within one mile of where we have been meeting for the past year. It is the same location where we met for the prior 15 years. A map showing the old and new location is located at http://www.uvpafug.org/map.htm .

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Janet Hovorka on COMPARING NEW FAMILYSEARCH CERTIFIED SOFTWARE. She will will compare the features available in the various software programs that have been certified by the LDS Church to interface with New FamilySearch, including Ancestral Quest, Family Insight, Legacy, and Roots Magic. Questions will be welcome. Janet Hovorka has a BA in Ancient Near Eastern Studies and an MA in Library Science from BYU and held positions at BYU and Salt Lake Community College before having her children. She has been teaching classes at local, regional and national genealogical conferences for a number of years. Janet and husband Kim own Generation Maps, an online genealogy chart printing service. She authors the Chart Chick Blog (http://www.chartchick.com).

Following the main presentation there will be several classes taught concerning technology and family history. As usual, there will be something for everyone at all levels of expertise. The teachers and classes currently scheduled for this meeting are the following:

1. Duane Dudley on Searching for Completed Ordinances in New FamilySearch
2. George Scott on Getting to Know New FamilySearch (Class 3 of 4)
3. Venita Parry on Genealogy on Your MAC
4. Janet Hovorka on Will Your Family History Work Survive the Digital Age?
5. Marlo Schuldt on Easier Scanning - An Art And A Science - video of last month's main presentation
6. Gaylon Findlay on Ancestral Quest
7. Joel Graham on Legacy
8. Bruce Buzbee on Roots Magic.
   

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-150 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Don Snow and Brian Cooper, VP's; Beth Ann Wiseman, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill, and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVD's of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://www.uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/. For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106) or VP1 Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Merry Christmas from the Zamora Family

To view the Zamora's Christmas card click here.

WorldVitalRecords.com Free Access

Just a quick note to let you know that WorldVitalRecords.com wants to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. They have opened free access to their website until 28 Dec 2009. You need to click on the link below to sign up. (No credit card required)

http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/email/promotional/WVRGift/xmas_lp_free.html

New Family History Consultant Training Available

The following is from FamilySearch.

December 2, 2009

To: Family history consultants in English-speaking wards and branches

As part of the Church’s ongoing initiative to make training available to family history consultants throughout the world, we are pleased to announce that several new training materials have been added to the Research Series Classes Online page of the FamilySearch.org Web site. New items on the Research Series Classes Online page include the following: Descendancy Research, Family History Library Catalog Overview, Research Logs, U.S. Courthouse Records Overview, and lesson 3 of Reading German Handwritten Records.

Descendancy Research introduces the principles and process for conducting research on the descendants of a particular ancestor or ancestral couple and includes many helpful tips. This is a great class for those whose ancestors have been thoroughly researched and documented or for anyone looking for a different way to do research.

Family History Library Catalog Overview is an introduction to using the Family History Library Catalog and covers how to search the catalog and how to make use of the search results. This class has been recently revised based on feedback provided by users.

Research Logs shows how to use a research log and why it is so valuable to researchers. The course clearly outlines the steps for using each part of a log and how it helps speed research. This is an important class for anyone just beginning family history research and for those who have been researching but need a way to help keep track of the research they have done.

U.S. Courthouse Records Overview introduces family historians to the records that can be found in U.S. courthouses, their genealogical value, and what to expect when searching those records.

Reading German Handwritten Records now includes a third lesson that introduces several document formats and hints about how to focus in on key parts of a record. Like the other two lessons, it is taught using a self-paced, interactive experience that includes narration and practice activities.

We are also pleased to announce that the Genealogical Presentations Online page on FamilySearch.org now contains three presentations from the Association of Professional Genealogist’s (APG) Professional Management Conference held September 2, 2009. This is an exciting trial partnership with APG to bring quality training content to the world from outside the FamilySearch organization. Two of these presentations are geared for professional genealogists and the other, titled “The Bachelor,” is applicable to all family historians.

We invite you to visit FamilySearch.org, view these classes, and then give us your feedback by using the feedback links. We also encourage you to use these classes with the members of your wards or branches and those you assist in family history centers as appropriate for their research needs.

Simply click on one of the links below, or copy and paste it into your browser.

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/education/frameset_education.asp?PAGE=education_research_series_online.asp%3FActiveTab=2

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/education/frameset_education.asp?PAGE=genealogical_presentations_online.asp%3FActiveTab=11

Sincerely,

FamilySearch

support@familysearch.org

U.S. and Canada: 1-866-406-1830

International: go to http://contact.familysearch.org for more toll-free phone numbers