BYU's 10th Annual Computerized Family History and Genealogy Conference will teach the community to integrate computers and genealogy.
The focus of the conference on March 16-17, themed "Strengthening Ties that Bind Families Forever," is to teach people how to incorporate new technology and computer programs in family history.
"The conference is to help people improve their skills and using the computer to trace their family tree," said Kip Sperry, professor of family history and doctrine and co-director of the conference. "For many years computers have made family history research much easier, especially with the introduction of the Internet."
This conference is designed for general computer users, teaching at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.
Dick Eastman and Alan Mann are the keynote speakers of the conference. Dick Eastman is a world-renowned author and lecturer, most well known for his online genealogical newsletter. Alan Mann is a manager of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and is an accredited genealogist researcher in England, the Channel Islands and Australia.
"Because of the many advancements in computers and family history, people can learn skills that can help them be more effective in finding ancestors," said John Best, assistant program administrator for conferences and workshops.
The topics covered during the conference will include running genealogy software, working with databases, e-mailing to do genealogy and finding useful tools on the Internet. A class that is predicted to be one of the more popular classes will focus on a new genealogy program, "Family Search."
"There has been a huge shift in genealogy from books to computers," said Best. "There is a lot of interest on how to use programs and do different kinds of searches."
Best said the conference is expected to have over 600 participants this year, most of which are BYU alumni.
The conference is co-sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU, and can be taken for university credit for an extra fee.
What: Computerized Family History and Genealogy Conference When: March 16-17 Where: Harmon Building Admission: $120, $168 for 1 credit Register at http://ce.byu.edu/cw/cwcompu/ |
Copyright Brigham Young University 27 Feb 2007
