Digital Preservation: What do teens know about it?

What do teenagers know about digital preservation?

Learn more on the new Library of Congress digital preservation blog, The Signal.

The first line - "It’s many adult’s worst nightmare: how to entertain and (try to) educate 30 8^th graders for an hour?" - brought back memories.

As co-founder of the Las Vegas (NV) Hebrew High for post-bar/bat mitzvah students, I had major misgivings about teaching family history to a class of eighth-graders. Having taught English to this age group at the Iran-America Society in Teheran long ago, I knew it wasn't easy.

However, the Las Vegas class turned out to be one of the best I've ever had. Students used the major reference works from day one and understood how to navigate the sometimes strange phonetic spellings in Alexander Beider's books. They contacted grandparents and long-lost relatives and asked questions, wrote reports, created family trees and they involved their parents and extended families.

So I was intrigued by digital archivist Butch Lazorchak's post today in The Signal.

He advises that the first thing to do is to try and think like the teens, and used the example of a Florida middle school class trip to Washington, DC.

It wasn't the first time the LOC has worked with students on digital culture. In 2009, high school students from Virginia visited. The “Digital Natives Explore Digital Preservation” video illustrates their knowledge, ideas about preservation and who should do it.

The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIPP; say it "n-dip") at the LOC has participated in the National Book Festival and hosted Personal Archiving Day events, but there are differences in outreach to adults, teens and eighth-graders. Here's the program that focused on digital photos.

There were some interesting items in a 2010 Pew study of myths about how teens use cell phones and social networks. It indicated that after texting, the most popular features were taking and sharing photos. The middle-school students' program focused on helping them understand "how to capture, describe and preserve their own digital photos," About half the group used digital cameras, while the others used phones.

The split is important, because the primary distribution (and possibly only long-term storage) strategy for many of the phone users was to upload their photos to a social networking site such as Facebook.

We explained some of the issues with using a social network site as a primary storage option (history has shown that those sites don’t stick around forever), and talked about how it’s best to save your photos across a range of devices (thumb drives, CDs, external hard drives, online storage) and geographies (your house in Florida, your friend’s house across town, your grandma’s house in Seattle).

And we were pleasantly surprised by the student’s degree of knowledge on the issues. Most of them recognized that their digital photos were “at-risk” in some way (one had filled her camera by shooting 800 photos in one day and was worried about how to save them when she ran out of space), and many had perfectly reasonable back-up and replication strategies already in place. Our presentation “teased-out” more detail on these strategies, and got both the students and their parental chaperones to think a little harder about saving their photos with something that resembled a long-term strategy.

NDIPP attempts to raise awareness of digital preservation issues and encourage people to take personal action to preserve their own materials in today's absence of comprehensive tools to help them do so. According to the author, "the personal photographs of the students at South Lake could become the valuable cultural heritage materials of tomorrow, but only if the students take care of them first."

Read the complete article at the link above.

LOC: New preservation blog launched

The Library of Congress digital preservation program is now part of the blogosphere, according to an LOC announcement today.

Part of the potential audience for the new blog are genealogists and family history researchers:

"The audience for us to interact with is potentially vast, as we are very interested in personal digital archiving: helping individuals and families preserve their digital photographs and other digital files that document their lives."

The new blog - The Signal - authored by digital initiatives manager Bill LeFurgy, who writes in the initial post that the official program name is the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, or NDIIPP (say N-DIP).

In 2000, Congress directed the LOC to undertake a national digital preservation program to address the large-scale challenge of digital preservation. Huge amounts of digital content were being created with no print equal, and that some content was needed to create records of the times we live in.

However, the amount of information was larger than what could made accessible. Because so much data could be lost, Congress created NDIIPP to lessen that risk.

Over the last 10 years we have built a national network of collaborative partnerships to help preserve important digital content, build new tools and develop best practices. The partnerships span different communities, including universities, federal and state government agencies and the commercial creative content industry.  This is a new approach. Libraries, archives and other memory institutions traditionally have worked separately to acquire and manage their collections. But digital is different—it calls for a new kind of capacity that is difficult for a single institution to build on its own. The only practicable way forward is collaboration: in building technical infrastructure, in sharing knowledge, in developing best practices and in assigning roles and responsibilities for stewarding digital collections.

Concerning preservation, he writes that technology is the easy part of digital preservation programs, but that social is the harder part. He talks about collaboration and the Internet, and mentions the LOC website digitalpreservation.gov which provides a rich collection of information and resources.

They have spoken to experts, list tools and services and shared global information. Future plans include looking at the spectrum of data, from large scientific databases to modest personal digital collections of documents. Interviews are planned with people from many fields.

Check out the new blog and provide feedback.

Calling all artists: International Jewish Genealogy Month poster contest

International Jewish Genealogy Month is celebrated during the Jewish month of Cheshvan. This year, it corresponds to October 29 - November 26, 2011.

It offers an opportunity for Jewish genealogical societies to plan special programs and raise awareness of the possibilities inherent in family research.

Each year, there is also a poster contest. The winning entry is used in conjunction with genealogy month activities. The entry deadline for the 2011 poster is June 15; read below for more information.

Tracing the Tribe chaired the 2010 committee, which selected this winning entry:

Scout out your artist friends and let students at local high schools, colleges and other institutions know about the opportunity. There is excellent graphic art talent out there at all age levels.

Entries may only be made by member organizations of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, but the artist does not need to be a member of the submitting organizations, which may submit multiple entries. There is no age requirement for the artist.

The creator of the winning entry receives free registration for the 2011 conference (August 14-19 in Washington, DC). The winner will be acknowledged at the conference, on discussion lists and on the IAJGS website.

For more details and the entry form, click here or email this year's committee chair Nancy Adelson (Seattle, Washington).

The members of this year's committee are: Rabbi Gary Gans (New Jersey), Howard Morris (Massachusetts), Garri Regev (Israel), Jeanette Rosenberg (UK) and Janice Sellers (California).

Library of Congress: Personal Archiving Day, April 30

The Library of Congress will hold a free public "Pass It On: Personal Archiving Day" on Saturday, April 30.

The event, from 11am-2pm, will provide information about preserving personal and family photographs in digital and non-digital forms. Reservations are not needed.

Library staff will be on hand to talk directly with individuals about how to manage and preserve their pictorial treasures. There will also be videos and printed information for participants.

The event will take place in Room 119 of the Jefferson Building, 1st Street S.E., between Independence Avenue and East Capitol Street. For more information on visiting the LOC, click here.

This event is part of the LOC celebration of Preservation Week (April 24-30), a joint initiative of the Library of Congress, American Library Association, Institute for Museum and Library Services and others. It highlights libraries and other collecting institutions as excellent sources of preservation information.

“It is a great pleasure for us to be able to help families preserve their photograph collections,” said Laura Campbell, Associate Librarian for Strategic Initiatives. “Digital technology in particular provides new challenges and opportunities to keeping photographs accessible over time and across generations.”

Dr. Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services, says ”Many of the collections currently held by the Library of Congress came originally from personal collectors It is in the best interest of the Library to help families preserve memorabilia that help trace the history of our communities and nation.”

Learn more about the event and sign up for free digital preservation updates here.For a short video of the event, click here.

Washington DC: 'Women in WWII,' dual program, April 17

Women in World War II is the topic in a dual program presented by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington on Sunday, April 17.

The program is in two parts at Beth El Hebrew Congregation, 3830 Seminary Road, Alexandria, Virgina.

From 11am-1pm, the first part is an intermediate workshop on "Women's World War II Resistance," presented by Patti Maslinoff. It is open only to JGSGW members and is free.

Following a short business meeting, the second part begins at 1.30pm. Davi Walders will read from her book and tell the stories of women throughout Europe whose heroic acts fighting fascism during the Holocaust saved thousands of lives. This part is free to JGSGW members and first-time attendees ($5 for others).

See below for more details on both programs.

Maslinoff's program - My Journey in Genealogy: Tips, How-To's & Rewards - is a two-hour multimedia presentation packed with resources, helpful hints and motivation for genealogists primarily at the intermediate level, although she says even beginners will find much information useful.

She will share some insights, joys and frustrations from 15 years of researching family history.

Included will be techniques she developed for improving research, data collection, organization and presentation, with valuable tips that only come from experience. Also in the presentation is a focus on digital technology and its tools, such as scanners and new software that can help make unreadable documents more legible.

Maslinoff will demonstrate video and audio clips during her own genealogical journey, and will discuss preparation for and conducting video-recorded oral history interviews. Attendees will learn about common mistakes made by beginners intermediate and even advanced researchers.

Ms. Maslinoff’s effusive enthusiasm and involvement with Jewish genealogy will be a motivation to all attendees. She teaches detective skills that will enable us to uncover the records, facts and other information about our families that generate those thrilling “Aha” moments that we treasure. Registration: Pre-registration required. Class is limited to 40 students. Register here

The main program -Women’s World War II Resistance - with writer and educator Davi Walders, will discuss what led her to research and write a moving collection of stories about woman throughout Europe whose heroic acts fighting fascism during the Holocaust saved thousands of lives.

She will read from her newly-published book ("Woman Against Tyranny: Poems of Resistance During the Holocaust;" Clemson University Digital Press).

The book tells the stories of Jewish, Christian and Muslim women who resisted in many ways, from helping others escape, to parachuting into hostile territory, to providing translation support and many other actions.

She will share stories of those who survived and those who perished - known as well as unknown. Included are Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini, Emilie Schindler, Baroness Germaine de Rothschild and others.

The session will address the question of why women's stories are so often unknown. Walders spent 15 years researching, traveling, and writing this collection. These women’s stories take place in such countries as Germany, Poland, France, Yugoslavia, Denmark, Slovakia, Albania, Greece, and elsewhere. The session will include discussion and a book-signing.

Walders' poetry and prose have appeared in more than 200 publications including CCAR Journal, Conservative Judaism, JOFA Journal, Judaism, Lilith and Midstream. She received Hadassah of Greater Washington's Myrtle Wreath Award for her work at NIH and its Children's Inn. For more biographical information, click here.

For more information and directions, click on the JGSGW website.

Washington DC: Jews, magic in Medici Florence, April 13

Edward Goldberg will discuss his new book, "Jews and Magic in Medici Florence" (University of Toronto Press) at the Library of Congress on Wednesday, April 13.

The free event - open to the public - begins at noon in the African and Middle Eastern Division Reading Room, Room 220, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street SE, Washington, DC. Tickets are not required, but seating is limited. The program is sponsored by the Hebraic Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division and the European Division.

Between 1615 and 1620, Benedetto Blanis (c.1580-c.1647), a Jewish scholar and businessman in the Florentine ghetto, sent 196 letters to Don Giovanni dei Medici (1567-1621), an influential member of the ruling family.

Blanis served Don Giovanni as palace librarian—organizing and cataloging the library’s contents, acquiring books from various sources and sharing his patron’s most esoteric interests. Together they ventured into dangerous and often forbidden territory—astrology, alchemy and the Kabbalah.

Discovered nearly four centuries later by art historian Edward Goldberg during his research in the Medici Granducal Archive, Blanis’ letters provide a portrait of a man struggling to survive in a strange no-man’s land between the Jewish ghetto and the Medici court. The letters also reveal the bond between two figures who strove to explain the world through the language of magical power.

Edward Goldberg holds a Ph.D. in modern history (Oxford University, 1979) and taught in Harvard University's Department of Fine Arts (1981-87). He has published widely in the course of 30 years of archival research in Florence. In 1995, Goldberg founded the Medici Archive Project to provide worldwide public access to the historical data in the Medici Granducal Archive through a fully searchable database at www.medici.org .

Established by Grand Duke Cosimo I in 1569, the archive of the Medici Grand Dukes offers the most complete record of any princely regime in Renaissance and Baroque Europe. The 3 million letters contained in more than 6,000 volumes richly documenting more than 200 years of human history (1537-1743).

Call for Papers: Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies' 21st conference

The Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies has announced the call for papers for its 21st annual conference, set for August 7-9, in San Diego, California.

The Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (SCJS) fosters the research of the historical and contemporary development of crypto-Jews of Iberian origin. Additionally, it provides a venue for the descendants of crypto-Jews, scholars, and other interested parties to network and discuss pertinent issues.

The society was founded 1991 by Rabbi Joshua Stampfer of Portland, Oregon; Dr. Stanley Hordes of New Mexico; and playright Rena Down of New York.

Here is the announcement from the society:

Tracing the Tribe is pleased that this year's conference does not conflict with the IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, August 14-19, in Washington, DC. Thus, we can attend this conference before going on to the East Coast.

We invite papers on crypto-Judaism from any discipline (e.g.,anthropology, history, sociology, philosophy, literature, music, etc.) and from any geographic location or time period. We also welcome papers on all aspects of the Sephardic experience and that of other communitiesexhibiting crypto-Jewish phenomena.

Papers breaking new ground in research on the California-Mexico borderlands are particularly welcome.

Interested scholars and professionals, including advanced graduate students, are invited to submit proposals for papers, presentations or workshops.

Proposals are also welcome from individuals with personal stories or other research relating to crypto-Judaism.

Proposals may be for individual papers/presentations or for complete sessions on specific topics.  Please indicate if presentation represents completed research or work in progress.

Proposals must include a 200-word abstract and a brief bio. The deadline is May 1.

Please send proposals or inquiries to Seth Ward in the Religious Studies department at the University of Wyoming,

For more information, see the SCJS website.

Library of Congress: Szyk Haggadah program, April 4

In the mid-1930s, Polish-Jewish artist Arthur Szyk created a haggadah in the style of medieval illuminated manuscripts.

The Szyk Haggadah will be displayed on Monday, April 4, at a Library of Congress program marking the Abrams publication of a new facsimile edition, with translation and commentary by Rabbi Byron L. Sherwin and Irvin Ungar.

The original Haggadah is housed in the LOC's Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

Ungar's talk - "Arthur Szyk and His Passover Haggadah: A Library of Congress Treasure" - will take place at noon, Monday, April 4, in the African and Middle Eastern Division Reading Room, Room 220, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street SE., Washington, DC. The talk is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but seating is limited.

Arthur Szyk (1894–1951) was an acclaimed artist, activist, illuminator and political illustrator. During World War II, his anti-Nazi caricatures were widely published in the United States, most memorably as covers for news magazines such as Time and Collier’s. For almost a decade, Szyk labored to create an elaborately illustrated haggadah that attacked the Nazis, but he could not find anyone willing to take the risk to publish his version of the Passover story. Szyk retold the ancient narrative as if it were an event unfolding in his own time, imagining the Hebrews as Eastern European Jews in need of a modern Exodus to the Land of Israel. His masterpiece was finally published in England in 1940, stripped of its anti-Nazi iconography.

Born of Jewish parents in Lodz, Poland, his early training was in Paris and Cracow. He served as artistic director of the Department of Propaganda for the Polish army regiment quartered in Lodz, 1919-1920. In 1921, he moved to Paris and lived and worked there for 10 years. In 1934, Szyk traveled to the US for exhibitions of his work, such as a Library of Congress exhibit of 38 miniatures commemorating George Washington and the Revolutionary period. In late 1940, after living for some years in the UK, he immigrated to the US.

In 2000, the Library of Congress celebrated the acquisition of several important original works by Szyk with an exhibition in the Swann Gallery titled "Arthur Szyk: Artist for Freedom." The display, which can be viewed online at www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/szyk, featured 17 representative works, from caricatures of Axis leaders to masterpieces of illumination such as the Szyk Haggadah.

A former pulpit rabbi, Ungar is CEO of antiquarian booksellers Historicana, founded in 1987. He has led the interest in Szyk; curated major museum shows, written and edited several books, and lectured internationally on the artist.

Jewish scholar and ethicist Sherwin has authored or edited 28 books and more than 150 articles and monographs. An Szyk authority, he has served on the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies faculty since 1970.

"The Szyk Haggadah" (128 pages, 48 color illustrations) is available from Abrams and nationwide bookstores and online ($40, hardcover; $16.95, paperback). Copies signed by Ungar will be sold at the April 4 event.

See an LOC online exhibit of some of Szyk's works here.

Library of Congress: 'The Washington Haggadah,' March 23

In just a few weeks, Jews around the world will be reading one or another edition of the Haggadah.

While one of Tracing the Tribe's favorite nostalgic editions is that printed by Maxwell House Coffee, there are many others.

The 15th-century  illuminated Washington Haggadah, in the Library of Congress, is considered an exquisite edition. A new facsimile edition has just been produced by Belknap Press/Harvard University Press this year.

The importance of this work and its new edition will be discussed by David Stern (University of Pennsylvania) and Katrin Kogman-Apel (Ben Gurion University) at noon on Wednesday, March 23. The program will take place in the Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC. The talk is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Both speakers wrote essays for the new edition, which will be on sale during the program, and speakers will sign copies.

The Washington Haggadah, held in the Library’s Hebraic Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division, will be on display.

According to a press release about the event, The Washington Haggadah is being discussed on the Books and Beyond page on Facebook, where readers can discuss books and access webcasts of LOC events.

IAJGS: 2011 Awards Committee seeks nominees

Each year, the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies recognizes individuals and organizations with four awards for excellence in Jewish genealogy.

All nominations must be submitted online via a One-Step form. If additional "hard-copy" material is required, instructions will be found on that form.

New submitters may need some help in using the online form. If you are in that group, contact the awards committee chair Mark Halpern.

AWARD CATEGORIES:

• IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award
• Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product
• Outstanding Programming or Project that Advanced the Objectives of Jewish Genealogy
• Outstanding Publication by a Member Organization of IAJGS

For information on each award and previous winners, click here.

CAVEAT: Nominations can be made ONLY by IAJGS member organizations - NOT by individuals. However, individuals are encouraged to be part of the process by contacting their local society and suggesting worthy nominees. Click here for a list of all JGSs and SIGs.
Awardees for 2011 will be announced at the annual IAJGS conference banquet - this year in Washington DC on Thursday, August 18.

DEADLINE:  Nominees must be submitted by April 17.

2011 AWARDS COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

• Chair: Mark Halpern, West Chester, Pennsylvania - JGS of Greater Philadelphia
• Jan Meisels Allen, Agoura Hills, California -  IAJGS Board Member
• Michael Brenner, Las Vegas, Nevada -  IAJGS Board Member
• Paul Cheifitz, Tel Aviv, Israel - Israel Genealogical Society
• Laurence Harris, Middlesex, UK - JGS of Great Britain

If you have questions, contact Mark Halpern.

Washington DC: 31st IAJGS conference updates

Tracing the Tribe hopes to see many of its readers at the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy - August 14-19 - in Washington DC.

Several updates concerning the event:

UPDATE #1 - Drawing for free stay

To be eligible to participate in the drawing for a free five-night stay at the conference venue - The Grand Hyatt Washington - readers must complete their conference registrations by 11.59pm EST January 31.

To register, click here on the Conference website.

UPDATE #2 - Discussion Group

Keep up on the latest announcements and information about the 2011 event via the DC2011 Discussion group on JewishGen. Learn the latest details and announcements, ask questions and comment, connect with other attendees.

Subscribe now and be the first on your block to learn the name of the five-night hotel stay winner. This first drawing is for those who submitted proposals to speak at the conference. The second drawing, in mid-February, is for another free five-night hotel stay for those who did early registration by midnight January 31.

Subscribe to the DC2011 discussion group by clicking here. When prompted, login to JewishGen and the Subscribe to JewishGen Mailing Lists page will appear. Under Hosted Projects, look for the 2011 DC Conference and click - on the right side - Subscribe.

UPDATE #3 - Shabbat Scholar

On February 1, the conference committee will announce the name of the conference Shabbat Scholar (Friday night-Saturday, August 12-13). Many conference attendees arrive several days before the conference starts to research in area repositories and the Shabbat program is a good way to meet others.

Tracing the Tribe will cover all announcements and updates from the DC 2011 event and will also blog the conference, so stay tuned.

Washington DC: Cultural continuity challenges, January 23

The challenges of cultural continuity with speaker Dr. Miriam Isaacs is the program for the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington, on Sunday, January 23.

The meeting begins at 1.30pm, at Congregation Beth El, in Bethesda, Maryland. Admission: JGSGW members and first-timers, free; others, $5.

A well-known expert on Yiddish culture, Isaacs will address how cultures can be transmitted and the factors leading to cultural disruption.

She will draw on the traditional notion of the Golden Chain, di goldene keit(Yiddish), the chain that links generations.

Isaacs will provide examples of stories, beliefs and ideas kept across generations and how they are adapted and re-adapted to different locations and situations. The examples will be drawn from folklore, literature and contemporary culture and also include how traditional themes are found in Holocaust studies.

Although many of our ancestors spoke Yiddish, few of us today understand how that language has impacted our culture over the generations.

Isaacs teaches at the University of Maryland.

DC 2011: Early conference registration is open

Early bird discounted registration is now open for the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.

Those who register by January 31 are eligible for a drawing for a free five-night stay at the Grand Hyatt Washington during the conference.

The rooms include 42" flat screen televisions - but who has time to watch TV at this event? - and other amenities.

The drawing will be held during the first week of February. Register here for the conference.

As always, the program will offer great talks by top-notch speakers on relevant topics. The committee is making an effort to bring fresh lectures on topics not previously addressed.

There will be programs by the staff of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Archives and Library of Congress. The event includes evening programs and a vendor showcase.

Workshops will include special tracks and beginner's classes, and there will be two computer classrooms.

The resource room will hold books, maps and 40 computers (PC/Mac) with links to some two dozen normally subscription-only databases, which will be free to attendees.

The early bird registration is $275 (versus $310 or more from February). There are companion fees offering large discounts. Student registration: High school students ($50), college students ($100). Daily registration will be $120 Sunday, $100 Monday-Thursday and $50 Friday.

Go to the main Conference Site for more details.

DC 2011: Proposal deadline, January 15

Planning to submit a program proposal for the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy ? If so, the deadline is January 15.

Although the conference says they've received a significant number of excellent proposals, they know that genealogists are often procrastinators!

To encourage the procrastinators, the conference plans a drawing from among all those who submit proposals. The lucky winner will receive a free five-night stay for the conference at the Grand Hyatt Washington, with a choice of king or double-double room. Only proposal submitters will be included, and each will be entered once for each program submitted for consideration.

That drawing is in addition to and separate from the Early Bird drawing for those who register for the conference during January 2011.

If you've already submitted a program proposal, you should have received an email confirmation. If you did not get that email, make sure your submission did go through.

Interested in submitting? Click here and read the guidelines.

See you in DC!

NEHGS: Research tours scheduled through July

The New England Historic Genealogical Society is offering a slate of research tours from January through July.

Check out these trips to Boston, London UK, Washington DC, Indiana and New York. Perhaps you can combine them with a visit already on your calendar.

For more information on any of these tours, visit AmericanAncestors.org, NEHGS's website, or send an email.

Winter Weekend Research Getaway: Effective Use of Technology
January 27-29
NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts

NEHGS Weekend Research Getaways combine personal, guided research at the NEHGS Research Library with themed educational lectures to create a unique experience for every participant. Personal consultations with NEHGS genealogists throughout the program allow visitors to explore their own genealogical projects, under the guiding hand of the nation’s leading family history experts.

The Winter Research Getaway, “Effective Use of Technology,” offers a variety of lectures surrounding “best practices” in using technology including researching online, software, and other topics relevant to any genealogist.

English Heritage Long Weekend
February 22-28

Discover the rich heritage of London with NEHGS in February. This unique long weekend will feature memorable events led by renowned scholars George Redmonds and John Titford, including talks, a guided tour of historic London churches, a visit to the College of Arms, optional side visits, special guests, and dinner at an exclusive private club. The weekend also includes up to three full days at Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! — the largest family history event in the world. Space is extremely limited. In addition to events, the NEHGS English Heritage Long Weekend includes six nights at the Hilton London Kensington Hotel, 179–199 Holland Park Avenue, London; daily coach service, daily English breakfast for five days, and two additional group meals. Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements to and from the Hilton London Kensington Hotel and optional activities and all other meals not included in scheduled tour events.

Washington, D.C. Research Tour
March 6-13

Research in the repositories of the nation’s capital with NEHGS as we return to Washington, D.C. Researchers will visit the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library, Library of Congress (LOC), and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) during this intensive week of guided research, individual consultations, lectures, and group meal events. Featured consultants include Henry B. Hoff, David A. Lambert, and Rhonda R. McClure.

Allen County Public Library Research Tour
Fort Wayne, Indiana
May 22-29

Join NEHGS for our inaugural visit to Fort Wayne, Indiana, as we explore one of the world's largest genealogical collections at the Allen County Public Library (ACPL). Fort Wayne has been dubbed the “Best Read City” by Places Rated Almanac as ACPL holds more than 350,000 printed volumes and more than 513,000 items of microfilm and microfiche. Consequently, ACPL is a destination for every genealogist. The tour includes individual consultations, group meals, lectures, and other events.

Weekend Research Trip to Albany, New York
July 13-17

Searching for ancestors from New York State? Join NEHGS as we explore the vast resources of the New York State Archives. The weekend includes individual consultations, lectures, and a group dinner. Featured consultants include Henry B. Hoff, editor of the Register, and Christopher C. Child, Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press.

For more information on each tour, use the link above to AmericanAncestors.org.

Virginia: Lost town of Trochenbrod, Dec. 12

Learn about the "lost town" of Trochenbrod with author Avrom Bendavid-Val, at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington on Sunday, December 12.

The program begins at 1pm at Beth El Hebrew Congregation, 3830 Seminary Road, Alexandria, Virginia. Members, free; others, $5.

A Washington DC resident, Bendavid-Val's book - "The Heavens are Empty: Discovering the Lost Town of Trochenbrod" - is the result of 12 years of research. He made nine visits to the site where the town once stood and its environs.

It contains first-person accounts, photographs and maps. The focus is on the vibrant town life, not just on its destruction.

Settlement of the village that became Trochenbrod started in the early 1800s in a small clearing in the forest in what is today northwest Ukraine. Jews began settling there and farming because under Czarist decrees, only by doing that could they avoid oppressive anti-Jewish laws, including having their sons conscripted to serve in the Russian army until age 45. As Trochenbrod grew to its final population of about 5,000, it became the only free-standing town created, populated, and self-governed entirely by Jews ever to exist outside the biblical Land of Israel.  Trochenbrod became a thriving regional commercial center that had a highly diversified and largely self-sufficient economy.

Trochenbrod was "a magical place,” according to the memoir of one visitor in the 1930s, a feeling echoed by the few Trochenbrod natives who survive. It was the only town to completely and permanently vanish in the Holocaust.  In August and September 1942, Nazis and their helpers murdered the people of Trochenbrod. The town had been created by anti-Semitism and it was destroyed by anti-Semitism. Because there had been none but Jews in Trochenbrod, no one was left there, and all traces of the town soon vanished.

 A book sale and signing will follow his presentation.

DC 2011 Conference: Call for papers opens October 17

More than 1,200 genealogists from the US and more than 30 countries are expected to attend the summer 2011 international conference on Jewish genealogy in Washington DC.

This event will offer some 160 lectures, panels, workshops and breakfast sessions, a film festival, repository fair, vendor room, gala banquet, and much more.

The 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will be hosted by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW), August 14-19, 2011, at the Grand Hyatt.

The Call for Papers opens October 17, so get out your thinking caps now. Presenters with unique expertise and experience are invited to submit proposals covering an unlimited range of relevant themes and programs.

To submit a program proposal, click here, click on “Call for Papers,” read the instructions and FAQ. The submission deadline is January 15, 2011. Accepted speakers will be notified on March 15, and will receive free conference registration.

Suggested topics topics cover Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, while geographic areas cover the world (Russia, UK, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Israel, Australia, Ukraine, Romania, Czech Republic, India and elsewhere).

• Research using records of the International Tracing Service (ITS)
• Jewish life in the southern US
• Repositories in the Greater DC area
• Getting the most out of the 1940 census
• Technology and computer workshops
• Publishing family histories,
• DNA and genealogy,
• Cemetery research,
• Geographical/historical resources and methodology,

Click here for a complete list of geographic and topic categories. For more specific information, contact conference co-chair Marlene Katz Bishow or program coordinator Dr. Jeffrey Malka.

The JGSGW was founded 30 years ago and its members come mainly from DC, Maryland and Virginia. The society is very experienced in producing these annual conferences, as they have done so with great success in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1995 and 2003. In addition to monthly meetings, and its quarterly journal (Mishpacha), it also publishes “Capital Collections: Resources for Jewish Genealogical Research in the Washington, DC-area.” Its library has more than 2,000 books, recordings and unpublished items.

The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies ( IAJGS) is an organization of organizations formed in 1988 to provide a common voice for issues of significance to its members, to advance our genealogical avocation, and to lend its name and expertise to such areas as the annual Jewish genealogy conferences.

Washington DC: JGSGW celebrates 30th anniversary, Oct. 17

The Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (DC)  will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Sunday, October 17.

Russian and Central European specialist researcher Boris Feldblyum (a JGSGW member) will present "Archival Research: Challenges and Strategies for Success."

He will share some tips and tricks he uses when researching for private clients. Learn how to get the most for your effort.

Doors open at 1pm, with the program at 1.30pm, at Har Shalom, 11510 Falls Road, Potomac, Maryland.

The event includes hors d'oeuvres, snacks and punch, door prizes.

Fee: JGSGW members, free; others, $5. For more information and directions, click the JGSGW website here.

The JGSGW is the host of the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (14-19 August 2011) at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC. Click here for all conference information.

Washington DC: Tracing family secrets, Sept. 19

Learning a single family secret can set us on discovery road. Author Steve Luxenberg had just that experience.

Steve ("Annie's Ghosts") will present "Genealogy From the Inside Out: Tracing a Family Secret From a Single Clue," at the next meeting of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington on Sunday, September 19.

Discovering a family secret – a hidden relative, marriage, divorce or cause of death - may change dramatically our understanding of our family tree. How do we - how can we - pursue that single clue?

Steve is one of my favorite people and I highly recommend attending his programs. His career as a professional journalist has provided the tools and experience to investigate and interview. Tracing the Tribe believes that a good genealogist or family historian must develop the same tools as those of investigative journalists.

If you haven't read "Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret" - now in paperback - do read it before this meeting.

The meeting starts at 1pm, with the program at 1.30pm, at B'nai Israel, 6301 Montrose Road, Rockville, Maryland. It is open to people of all faiths and guests are welcome. A book-signing is also scheduled.

In 1995, Steve, an associate editor at the Washington Post, discovered that his mother (in her 70s) had been hiding the existence of her then-deceased sister. This was the impetus for his odyssey to unravel the rest of the story, including his aunt's 30 years in a psychiatric institution.

Steve's PowerPoint presentation will bring attendees along on his journey down discovery road as he wrote his award-winning book.

Following clues and leads, the process includes burial records, birth certificates, hospital records, immigration documents and wartime records, to develop a fascinating paper trail. One result of his investigation was a significantly changed understanding of his family history and societal stigma regarding mental health.

For more information and directions, see the JGSGW website.

NOTE: Mark your calendars as the JGSGW will host the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, 14-19 August 2011, in Washington DC.

Our DNA: Accessing or owning it?

The FDA held hearings July 19-20 on oversight of laboratory-developed tests.

Tracing the Tribe has read articles on the hearings, but believes those hearings focused on medical genetic testing and not on ancestral genetic genealogy, which has a large number of very active, vocal consumers interested in the issue.

International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) director Katherine Borges heads a non-profit organization of more than 7,000 members in the US and 60 other countries. She was a speaker.

Her remarks are reproduced in a Huffington Post column by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, who wrote (DTC refers to direct-to-consumer tests):

Normally, I would expound upon my reasons, but one of the speakers today articulated the perspective of genetic genealogists (and other DTC test consumers) so well that I asked whether I could share her remarks here, and she kindly agreed.

Megan is involved in genetic genealogy as an author and consumer of DTC DNA tests. Tracing the Tribe is another of those genetic genealogy customers.

Katherine's remarks were mainly about DNA testing for genealogical, ancestral and anthropological purposes, while the FDA hearings focused on medical genetic testing. There is a difference.

Said Katherine:

Our (ISOGG's) mission is to promote and educate members and the general public about the use of DNA testing for genealogical and ancestry purposes. We are comprised of serious enthusiasts who represent an active core of the estimated one million people who have taken DTC tests for genealogy and ancestry purposes since their inception about ten years ago.

As the name of our society implies, our focus is primarily upon using DTC tests for genealogy, but a growing segment of our membership also use personal genome tests to trace health-related information within their families.

However, testing for ancestry and anthropology is far and away the largest segment of the DTC genetic testing market. This clearly does not fall under FDA's area of responsibility. Our concern is that FDA should not attempt to expand its regulatory authority beyond its proper domain of medical applications, and it should assure that its actions in the medical area do not inadvertently impact the non-medical applications.

Tracing the Tribe recommends readers access the link above to read Katherine's complete remarks.

On media articles focusing on sensationalistic cases, Katherine added:

Many of the articles I've read have been biased, reflecting the author's views without presenting voices from both sides of the issue. For example, just last week, a DC area reporter was looking for stories from consumers of DTC testing for an article to be published in anticipation of this meeting. He was contacted by several individuals who had positive testing experiences, but he did not follow up on these contacts. He told another consumer that he was specifically seeking negative experiences.

She also addressed medical groups who seek to limit access to medical information not under their direct control, that participatory genome study at some institutions means individuals cannot access their own genetic information.

Read her complete statement at the link above for more information.

Those interested in the issue should know there is an online petition - which does not include a clause referencing ancestral genetic genealogy, but focuses solely on medical genetic testing. However, many signers (read the comments at the link) are commenting only on the genetic genealogy issue not represented in the petition.

Perhaps the FDA is only concerned with medical DNA testing and not ancestral or anthropological genetic genealogy?

I'm sure we'll all be paying close attention to future developments.