Continuing Education

I met a man at a genealogy conference recently. He's his family's historian and has been researching his family tree for decades. But he's still stumped on one of his ancestral lines and wasn't sure what to do next.

As much as professionals need continuing education, so too do dedicated researchers of their own family. No one knows your family tree better than you do. One key to progress, however, is learning broadly about other topics and methods. Hidden in the new bits and pieces you learn will be some new approaches to try on an old problem.

A great way to learn is to sign up for webinars. You can participate in these online seminars anywhere. They are generally short enough to fit into even the busiest schedules, but long enough to be a full of useful information. And the wide variety of topics available means you're sure to find something that you can apply to a current genealogical brick wall.

Local libraries and societies will have many offerings. Of course, "local" doesn't have to be local to you. I have some on my calendar hosted by a library a few hours away, and I've logged on at odd hours to listen to broadcasts from Europe.

Another amazing resource for webinars is Legacy Family Tree webinars. They offer live webinars, select recorded webinars, and a subscription for unlimited on-demand viewing.

Top tip: Don't disregard those webinars (or articles or presentations) that are case studies. I often hear, "Why would I want to learn about someone else's family?" Well, because the methods and approaches they used with success can help you too.