Update on Reopening of the CGS Library

 

President James Sorenson

On March 10, 2021, Alameda County returned to the red tier for COVID-19 restrictions.  That change does not allow for the reopening of office spaces, which includes the CGS library. Offices can reopen at 25% capacity in the orange tier if required safety protocols are in place. CGS is following Alameda County announcements and comparing reopening plans with similar organizations.  Due to the steps CGS will have to take to comply with safety protocols, our reopening will not occur immediately after the County returns to the orange tier. We will continue to work towards reopening and will keep you updated as to our progress.

 

As more people are completing their vaccination cycle, it is logical to ask if one’s vaccination status will impact your ability to return to the library. At this point, it is highly unlikely that the County will adjust their restrictions to reflect individual vaccination status in the near term. One reason is that it is unknown if vaccinated individuals can still spread the virus to others. It would also be difficult to administer a system which reflects the haves and have-nots of vaccination.

 

We know many of you are eager to return to your research at the CGS library. We will do all we can to make sure that happens in an efficient and safe way and look forward to having you visit again.

 

James Sorenson, CGS President

An update on reopening the CGS Library from President James Sorenson

I’m sure all of us are eager to see the CGS library reopen for use by the genealogical community. In May and June, the CGS Board discussed various issues and challenges related to reopening our library. Effective October 9, Alameda County said that libraries could reopen at 25% capacity with certain protocols. For CGS that meant: contacting our front desk volunteers about their willingness to come in; incorporating the County protocols with the ones we had already addressed; and developing a training program for our volunteers. We also contacted various area libraries about their reopening plans and learned that for various reasons, none of them had a definite date for reopening; and like us, most were looking at a reservation system for library use. 

 

We thought we might be able to open in November. However, we contacted the County health folks for some clarifications and were told that CGS would have to meet not only library protocols but also those for offices (which have not been allowed to reopen in Alameda County), as well as the ventilation requirements for movie theaters (since we are windowless). After reviewing the above input, the Board has decided that we should not plan to reopen the library until next year, possibly by March 2021 but nothing definite. Since that decision, the County has officially closed the window on our reopening due to a resurgence of COVID cases. I’m also disappointed to say that I do not expect us to schedule any classes at our library before June 2021. 

 

Another impact of the closure is that our annual meeting on 9 January 2021 will be held by video conference and although it is free, attendees will have to register ahead of time. We will all miss the opportunity to see each other in person and share our experiences of the past 8 months.

James Sorenson, CGS President

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Family History with Young Kids… While Sheltering In Place

This blog post was contributed by Marisa Louie Lee.

I was making some exciting strides in my genealogy research this year until mid-March, when my daughter’s preschool closed and landed her at home with her younger sister and me. We’ve since filled our days with class Zoom meetings, sidewalk chalk, watching lettuce grow in the backyard, crafting with toilet paper tubes, and lots of yoga on YouTube… and lately, a few family history projects. While visiting research rooms or meeting up with other researchers is in the distant future, I can still work on something just as important as piecing together the past: fostering a love for family history and their cultural heritage in my kids.

For children, especially those under the age of 5, identity is tied to family. Understanding family traditions and being able to share family narratives strengthens one’s pride in family, building confidence and self-esteem. With this foundation, children can better understand differences among their peers and build relationships with others. Here are some ways you can introduce family history to young children while sheltering in place.

Making Chinese turnip cake at home

Cooking Family Recipes: The food of Shelter in Place is definitely comfort food – and what’s more comforting than what your family has made for generations? Share the stories that go along with the recipes. Was there a special plate that your grandmother used to serve the cake? Was this casserole a special food for holidays or birthdays? If you don’t have a family recipe for something you enjoyed as a child, find one online and refine it until it feels and tastes right. We made my mother-in-law’s favorite Chinese turnip cake (lo bak go) for the first time last month. An aunt has also been perfecting her Hong Kong-style egg custard tart (daan tat) recipe, and our kids have happily eaten all of the trial tarts left on our doorstep.

Thumbs up for homemade custard tarts!

Family Photo Sharing on Zoom: On Mother’s Day, our extended family gathered on Zoom. We devoted part of our meeting to sharing and talking about family pictures. My daughter loves seeing photos of adults as children, so she was enthralled by a photo from her great-great-grandmother’s birthday party in the 1960s. Best of all, the Zoom meeting was recorded so we are able to go back and listen to everyone’s reminiscences. This would be an excellent activity for a family member who’d like to offer some virtual babysitting to busy parents.  

Cemetery Visits: Instead of taking a walk at a local park, why not visit a local cemetery? This would have to be carefully planned and obviously may not be appropriate for every child. Our children are very comfortable at cemeteries because we visit twice yearly for Chinese grave cleaning days in the spring and fall. Visit the grave of an ancestor and share a story, or find a grave and discover ways to find out more about that individual and the time period in which they lived. My daughter talks about time and history comparatively to people and things she is familiar with: was this person alive when her parents or grandparents were born? Which famous Disney movies – like Snow White (1937) or Cinderella (1950) – were around then? Were there cars or did people ride horses?

Visiting Hoy Sun Cemetery in Colma

Honoring family on Memorial Day

COVID-19 Time Capsule: Document the history happening now. What is it like sheltering in place with your family? How are you celebrating holidays and special occasions? What are your favorite books, movies, and pastimes right now? This COVID-19 time capsule by LONG Creations is designed for young children to complete and color with some adult assistance.

 

Some books from our family library

Picture Books on Family History: Read books on family history, particularly any that relate to your child’s culture and ancestors. My daughter will eventually learn more fully about the Chinese Exclusion Act and Chinese communities in the Sacramento Delta, but for now we can talk about immigrant journeys and the meanings of our names. Some recent fantastic picture books with a thread about family history and heritage include Islandborn by Junot Díaz and Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal. You can also find books specifically about family trees and genealogical research, such as My Family Tree and Me by Dušan Petričić. If you don’t mind using a tablet or electronic device to read with your child, these may be available as e-books from your local public library. I’ve developed a reading list in my San Francisco Public Library account with these and other titles.

Many thanks to friends and colleagues in genealogy and parenthood Linda Harms Okazaki, Asia Yee Mountz, and Petra Fraties for their input and contributions to this blog post. This article published on the Your DNA Guide blog further discusses family narratives and building resilience in children.

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

A Message from CGS President Jim Sorenson

As various governing bodies take actions to phase in a reopening our economy, CGS is monitoring those decisions to see when we might be able to re-open our library and resume classes at the library. Even after it appears that we can open, CGS will need to determine what measures are needed to ensure compliance with County restrictions as well as to provide for the continued safety of our patrons and volunteers. At this point, I do not expect us to open until mid-summer. Before we re-open, we will publish our new operating procedures in the blog and provide notice of them on our website. Among our "new normal" procedures under discussion are:

• Library access by reservation only.
• Social distancing and the wearing of masks while at the library.
• Rules for the cleaning of touch surfaces.
• Limitations on the size of classes, SIGs and committee meetings at the library.

These measures are expected to remain in place for several months. Some of our committees and SIGs have already started having meetings using remote conferencing and we are taking steps to enable the presentation of many of our classes using that technology. Those classes will be announced on our website as well as on our blog and elsewhere. As a follow-up on a previous blog posting, I’m continuing to write sketches of each of my grandparents as I remain at home. The following is just a brief summary from that work:

My paternal grandparents were married, but not to each other. She was 19, he was 43 and her family doctor. The specific circumstances of the encounter which led to the birth of my father will never be known. The doctor died three years later in 1921 of what he thought was the flu. Months later, the public health service determined that he had died of typhus fever at the front end of an epidemic within the Navaho community in New Mexico where he was supervising the construction of a hospital for these often-neglected people. He may have been the worst of my grandparents but also the most noble.

We will have plenty of time to learn more about our ancestors. We will have time to tell the stories of our ancestors. But right now, our ancestors would want us to stay safe so that we will be able to do those things in the future.   

James Sorenson, President

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Message from the President

CGS President James Sorenson

Greetings,

I hope you are all weathering the COVID-19 storm. These continue to be extraordinary and unprecedented times for all of us. I know most of us want to return to “normal." For CGS, normal would be resuming our classes at the library. Although we closed our library and canceled classes before it was required, our continued closure is a function of county health mandates. We will not be able to open our library or resume classes at the library until some time after there is some relaxing of general restrictions. Phase One of relaxed restrictions will still prohibit gatherings of people greater than some number (say 10) people. I have not heard anyone say when Phase One will start in Alameda County, and certainly no one can say when the later phases will occur. 

We have decided to cancel classes which were scheduled as part of a series, if the front end of that series has already been canceled. That doesn’t mean those classes will not take place this year but they will not take place as currently scheduled.

CGS has been working with remote-access technology and we had our first remote-access class on April 9. We are working on having other remote-access classes and they will be posted on our website and in our blog as they are developed and scheduled. This is new territory for CGS and we are working diligently to bring these classes to our CGS membership and other members of the genealogy community who look to CGS for guidance and instruction. 

James Sorenson, President

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

COVID-19 update: Library closed through May 6, Salt Lake City trip canceled

President Jim Sorenson has issued this update:

"The closure of the CGS library has been extended through May 6. All CGS classes and events have been canceled through the end of May. However, we are working on having some classes conducted via remote access; the first of these will be on April 9. Among the events canceled are the CGS research trip to Salt Lake City. Refunds are being issued for all canceled classes and events. 

I'm sure everyone knows that the closure and cancellations are a dynamic process and we can not say for sure when CGS will be able to resume normal operations at either the CGS library or the Oakland FamilySearch Library. The health of our patrons and volunteers is of paramount importance to us."

 
Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

An Update from the CGS President

As most of you know, the CGS library has been closed since March 12 and we have canceled all public CGS activities through the end of April. Fortunately, many of our volunteers are able to work from home. The library closure and cancellation of classes may continue into May. Please check our website: https://www.californiaancestors.org/ for the current status. These are extraordinary times for CGS and this closure is unprecedented in the memory of any of us–but I’m sure you’re aware of why we have taken these steps. Due to the age demographic in the genealogy community, CGS will remain on the cautious side of any government mandates. Although I am not aware of any library or class attendees having tested positive for the coronavirus aka COVID-19, the threat is real and we are concerned for the health and safety of our patrons, friends and volunteers.

Individually, we will come through this and CGS will come through this. We are already planning the transition back to normal CGS operations on the other side although when that transition will start is unknown at this point. Rescheduling of canceled classes or events will have to be coordinated with the instructors and the calendar of events at each venue. We appreciate your support and understanding as we go down this road. The library closure will cause some disruption in our processing of membership dues renewals but we will not drop any members for non-payment of dues until the end of June. Rather than having individuals cancel their class registration, rest assured that all fees paid will be refunded for classes or events if they have been canceled.

I think most genealogists have tasks that have been put aside until someday when they have more time. Well, that time has come for many of us. It’s a good time to organize your family history files. I’ve started writing a narrative history for each of my grandparents based on years of accumulated information. And after that, I have to complete work on eight great-grandparents. Those narratives can be revised if new information is discovered but this is a great time to get started.

Jim Sorenson, President

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Update on CGS Library closure

Due to concerns about COVID 19, the CGS library will now be closed through at least April 15. All CGS classes and events have been canceled through the end of April (except for those held with remote conferencing). This closure and cancellation may be extended, so please check our website before visiting. Note that this also applies to classes scheduled at the Oakland Family Search Library: OFSL, as well as the Family Search Library in Salt Lake City, announced their closure on March 13 until further notice.

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

COVID-19 announcement: CGS Library closed through March 28

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the spread of the novel coronavirus, we have decided to close the CGS Library until March 28. We prefer to exercise an abundance of caution rather than to potentially expose our volunteers and patrons to infection. At this time, classes held at the Oakland Family Search Library are not affected. We will refund all fees paid for canceled classes.

Given that this is a rapidly evolving situation, we will re-evaluate the state of affairs in two weeks.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19, it is recommended you consult one of the following websites:

• Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center 
• World Health Organization
• U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society