January, January -- what to do?

Once the holidays are over what are you going to be doing? Use the genealogy books, memberships, and subscriptions you received for Christmas? How about these other ideas for the beginning of the New Year?

• Hmmm, a last minute trip to Salt Lake City might be fun. The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy takes place just under 2 blocks from the Family History Library and there is still room in some of the courses. Learn, network with others who speak the genealogy language, and then visit the library to put the learning to work.
• If you take Course I, American Records, you will receive many hours of one-on-one assistance in the Family History Library from a couple of the instructors. I coordinate that course and enjoy the teaching and also the consulting with students right in the library.
  
• Think about scanning those old photographs. I save the old photos in case the format I save them on is not accessible in the future. Once the photos are online or transferred to a CD or DVD I share them with others as another form of at least current preservation
• Add the titles of your genealogy and history books to LibraryThing.com.
  
• Think about continuing education in genealogy. In addition to SLIG, many classes and courses take place both online and in the classroom.
  
• Look at the program for the National Genealogical Society's conference that takes place in Salt Lake City April 28-May 1, 2010. Lots of info on the conference pages! The conference is hosted by the Utah Genealogical Association.
  
• Later in January, check out the program for the August 18-21, 2010 Federation of Genealogical Societies conference that is co-hosted by the East Tennessee Historical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society. For now, read the FGS Conference News Blog.
• Join your local or state genealogical society and add their meetings to your calendar. The FGS website has listings of many societies.
  
• Check out the source citations in your genealogy program. Would you want others to see them as they are? If not, it's time to work on them. That includes me!