On Wednesday 22nd Feby. Expert Family Historian Fiona Fitzsimons will give a talk to the students in the M.A. in Archives and Records Management, in U.C.D.
Family historians are one of the main groups of users in archives and libraries, and archivists need to know how to provide them with what they need.
“In preparing this talk, I’ve focused particularly on the digitized collections and catalogues. There are so many records now available online, researchers can almost ‘take their research home.’
Archival resources, not least time, are limited and I hope to show the young archivists how they can deliver the best results to this key audience.”
Brian Kirby, course co-ordinator said
“I know the students welcome hearing from a qualified genealogist as their first assignment in the course relates specifically to family history research.”
Overview
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A Summary of the main sources consulted by Irish genealogists, their location and how they are accessed (online/in person). Highlighting the problems that genealogists face accessing relevant sources in Ireland – the destruction of census records in the Public Record Office in 1922 etc.
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An assessment of what Irish family history researchers are looking for (sources that list names and addresses, census substitutes) perhaps with a look at specific areas that are challenging for researchers today, such as those tracing children who were adopted in the early 20th century / emigration records.
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The importance of digitized records and online access and the problems with some online records.
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The increasing importance of subscription-based genealogical websites (findmypast.ie; Ancestry.com;) which are of assistance to family history research.
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Archival Communication: Letting genealogists know about your holdings and how to access them.
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The overseas visitor - many American visitors put aside one or two days for family history research, how can they fit in as much as possible in that short time, leaving happy and informed rather than frustrated and disappointed.