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

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

Genealogy learning in the time of coronavirus

image: http://www.e-scheduler.com

While genealogy is often seen as a solitary pursuit, the abundance of conferences, classes, and other gatherings is evidence that we also work and learn together as a community. Although the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted many planned events this year, the virtual learning goes on. This is a great time to acquaint or re-acquaint yourself with the multitude of high-quality free webinars available to anyone with an Internet connection. While we can't list every single webinar, here are some good places to start:

Conference Keeper boasts "the most complete collection of genealogy events online!" This huge calendar advertises events from throughout the U.S., Canada, and sometimes other countries. New events are added often, so check the calendar frequently.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society hosts a multitude of webinars in March and April 2020. CGS past president Linda Harms Okazaki is speaking this Friday, March 27 on "A Japanese American Family from 1902-1992: Finding Records to Recreate the Hirai Family Story."

Ancestry Academy is a huge repository of free lectures and presentations on everything from beginning genealogy to understanding vital records to specialized courses on Mexican Civil Registrations, Quaker Research, common genealogy myths and so much more. The web videos range in length from a few minutes to an hour or more. Browse the collection here: https://www.ancestry.com/academy/courses/recommended

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City usually hosts weekly or monthly classes and webinars year-round. As with Ancestry, its collection is huge and topics are varied. While the library is temporarily closed due to the pandemic, live webinars continue through March; this week they include presentations on Germans from Russia, Irish ancestry, and descendancy research. All web classes are archived and accessible at FamilySearch.

The BYU Family History Library at Brigham Young University also hosts regular free webinars on various genealogical topics, and keeps them archived on their website so they can be watched any time.

RootsTech, possibly the largest annual genealogy conference in the world, makes its sessions available online during the event and keeps them viewable for free on its website afterwards. You can watch RootsTech sessions from 2015 through 2020 at their Video Archive.

Legacy Family Tree, partnering with MyHeritage, the Board for Certification of Genealogists, and other organizations, hosts free live webinars throughout the year, many led by some of the biggest names in genealogy. In the next few weeks, for example, Craig R. Scott speaks on "Using Fold3 to Your Advantage," Rick Sayre talks about "The General Land Office Website: A Genealogical Gem," and Rebecca Whitman Koford discusses the Maryland State Archives. Anyone may register and watch the live seminars for free, but you must pay an annual membership fee ($49.95) if you want to access instructors' notes or view the recorded sessions afterward. The Webinar Library does contain many archived recordings that are free to the public.

The Southern California Genealogical Society offers webcasts once or twice monthly, on a model similar to that of Legacy Family Tree, where anyone may register to watch the initial broadcast for free. You must be a member of SCGS to view the archived broadcasts. Next up: Julie Goucher talks about "Foundations to Researching in Europe" on April 4.

American Ancestors offers webinars (free) and many online classes (for a fee) throughout the year. The next free webinar is scheduled for April 30, when Curt DiCamillo presents "Treasures of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society." Learn more at https://www.americanancestors.org/education/learning-resources.

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