RootsTech 2014: Sneak Peek

While RootsTech may be a little less than 2 months away, the speakers and organizers are hard at work getting all of their logistical ducks in a row! Seriously, new updates and meetings are practically a weekly occurrence - and the Christmas season is no exception! Which is why you have seen so many posts and announcements from the 2014 participants. As the energy and buzz increase over the coming weeks, here are a few brief updates:

New RootsTech Flipboard Magazine, put together by Lisa Louise Cooke:

I have loved Flipboard for over a year now, but this new, curated issue, full of RootsTech scrumpciousness is a fantastic way to get into the RootsTech energy. 'Tis the season to sit by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate while the snow piles up outside - what better reading material than a collection of RootsTech commentary from your favorite writers/bloggers!? Flipboard is great for tablet reading, but is available across many platforms and via your PC.

RootsTech Session RT1452 (on-site & recorded):

One of the things speakers have been encouraged to do is introduce their session a little before the conference. As a sneak peek, I will expound a little beyond the general session description which reads:

"Piecing Together History: Crowdsourcing Events to Glean the Most Out of the Current Generation. As a technology driven society we have focused most crowdsourcing initiatives on social media venues and electronic metadata collecting methods. However, a balance of tech and nontech approaches is necessary to reach a generation in transition."

This session was birthed as a result of several crowdsourcing or "knowledge sharing" events that took place at the Kentucky Historical Society over the past few years. As a state historical society library, our collection runs the gamut from genealogy/history related books, to original photographic and manuscript collections. Many collections are small and family or community focused with little to no contextual information. In an attempt to provide additional information, we hosted a series of events called "Piecing Together History" to foster community engagement. Through this process, we had to assess the individual collections that would be used for the events, as well as determine what information was sought. This session will follow the steps we took in preparing the collections for community interaction, followed by the information gathering strategies utilized to ensure the information was permanently attached to the collection components. Over the past few years we have incorporated many strategies, including technologically driven gathering methods. Only after trial and error did we find a mutli-method approach that allowed for maximum involvement and knowledge sharing. This final method can be employed with any type of collection and with any type of group. From family reunions to academic settings, this session will demonstrate best practices for engaging audiences of all types and technological levels. (This session has been selected as a recorded session to be broadcast at the RootsTech Family History Fairs - see below)

RootsTech Livestreaming and Family History Fairs:

As a special treat, for those of you who cannot make the trek to Salt Lake City in February, you can still enjoy RootsTech sessions from your area via two options:

1. This year's conference will be livestreaming several sessions for free throughout the conference! Get a cup of tea and enjoy some sessions from home!

2. Many other sessions will be recorded for later viewing at local Family History Fairs in various national and international venues. As a goal for 2014, RootsTech is attempting to arrange 600 satellite locations around the world which will receive and broadcast recorded sessions from RootsTech 2014, in several languages. Information about the locations should be coming soon, so stay tuned to see if your area will be hosting a local fair to showcase some of the 2014 sessions! For those in Kentucky, the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort will be one of the venues showing the recorded sessions. We anticipate hosting our Family History Fair in March as part of our regularly scheduled Second Saturday programming. More info TBA.

Can't wait! See you all soon!
C