The 14th annual Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy

2009 will be the 14th annual week long SLIG held in Salt Lake City. The 2009 dates are January 12-16. SLIG lasts for 5 full days plus optional evening special lectures. The ten courses offered for 2009 are: American Research and Records, Research in the Gulf South, English Research, Research in German Speaking Areas, Colonial American Research, Effective Use of the Internet, Hispanic Research, Beyond the Library,, Skillbuilding for Professional Level Research, and Problem Solving. Yes, you do have to pick only one course!

Check out the Utah Genealogical Association's website for a description of each course and the coordinator for each. Check back later for the full class listing for each and for the names of all the instructors for the courses. The courses generally consist of 20 classroom hours and then you can walk or ride 2.5 blocks from the Radisson Hotel to the Family History Library and immediately put what you have learned to work. The friendships that have developed over the year are wonderful. Some return year after year. New students fit right in.

I coordinate and teach in Course I: American Research and Records: Focus on Localities. This is a two-part course with the alternate year focusing on Families. 1997 was the first year I taught at SLIG and have been coordinating a course since 1998. I wouldn't miss this special week! What else can you do in January? This course is educational and fun at the same time. A special bond develops between the class and instructors.

Course I is designed a bit differently from the others. 16 hours are classroom hours, some with hands-on work. There are optional FHL homework assignments to help you immediately apply the new knowledge. This course also offers 6 hours in the FHL with mini-tours and one-on-one consultations. The instructors for this course are Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., FUGA, Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA, Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA, Kory L. Meyerink, AG, FUGA (2), and D. Joshua Taylor.

Birdie and Josh will once again assist me in the FHL with the tours and consultations. It is a great feeling to help a student work on what to do next and then have that person come back and say "thank you, I found them." I will also be an instructor in the Beyond the Library, Gulf South, and Skillbuilding courses. This year's line up of coordinators and instructors that I already know about is impressive. All the full course titles are listed in the blog post immediately below this one.