Video posting exercise

I chose genealogy as my topic because when I eventually get started with my family history blog, I think it would be cool to have some helpful videos available. The embedded video is a demonstration of the FamilySearch Record Search pilot site. The interface has changed a little since this video was originally posted last year (you can view the current interface at http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start), but the usefulness of the site is marvelous. And personally, you can tell that the narrator is BEYOND EXCITED at the potential of this research tool. To tell you the truth, having used this site to locate death certificates for several ancestors -- including a 5th-great-grandmother who was *at least* 106 when she died -- I'm pretty stoked about it, too. :-D

Midwest Genealogy Center

Midwest Genealogy Center
Originally uploaded by blk3953

I went to the grand opening of the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, MO. This building is MUCH nicer than the previous branch...that one was okay and definitely served its purpose, but this one has SPACE. I haven't been back in a few months, but now that I'm making a little more progress on my family history, I'm sure that there will be a visit to this library in the very near future.

Playing some serious catch-up...

Oh. My. Goodness. I am so ridiculously behind with the 13 Things course! Between staff shortages at work, illness, and working on a 2nd Masters degree, time has totally slipped away from me. Hopefully I'll be able to make some more headway with the course in the next few days (my current class will be over by Wednesday evening).

What's my purpose?

In other words, what would I like to get out of learning these "13 Things"?

I can see professional and personal uses for what we'll be learning in this course. For work, maybe I can use these tools to connect with current dental & dental hygiene students at UMKC. For example, a blog could be used as a "breaking news" area to alert students to new resources or services, and to redirect them to the location of those services (such as our web site or LibGuide pages). Personally, I can use a blog to let interested family members know of my latest discoveries in my family tree research, and it could also serve as a central point for updates on next summer's family reunion.

These are just some brief ideas on what i would like to do with the information learned through this course. I'm sure that other possibilities will take shape as I get more comfortable with each new feature.

my first post...

Hello, everyone. My name is Tracey Hughes, and I am the Instructional Resources Librarian at the UMKC School of Dentistry. I'm running a little behind on the class, but I'm looking forward to getting caught up. :-)

Creating this blog & first post was very easy; the directions provided were clear and easy to follow. The trick will be getting me to remember to use it, but hey, that's what this session is for! :-D

Peace,
Tracey.