Explosion!

Photo Credit: stock.xchng.com

After an amazing week in Las Vegas at the NGS 2013 Family History Conference, I'm back at  home and settling into my usual routine. Right? 

Um, no. 

As it happens, during the conference, D. Joshua Taylor sent out this tweet: 

Little did I know (or him for that matter!) the level of excitement this idea would generate. 

Thankfully, we certainly were not the only people thinking about doing something like this. The wonderful Kassie Nelson had already started a Facebook group for the very same thing. However, as a full time student and Mom, it was tough getting things moving for her. We banded together, and I am extremely excited that The NextGen Genealogy Network (NGGN) now has over 120 members! 

Just another Facebook group? Hardly. 

The organization is doing just that: organizing. We have filed incorporation papers and while we wait for that process to be completed, we are working on creating our structure, finding volunteers to fill those necessary roles to make everything click, and generating ideas for projects, goals and other objectives. 

What exactly is NGGN? 

Well, our mission statement should give you a pretty good explanation: 

"The NextGen Genealogy Network exists to foster the next generation’s interest in family history and engagement in our community through digital channels which virtually connect members throughout the world."

Yes, virtually. Our meetings, conversations, educational programs... everything will be online. We are truly hoping to reach those genealogists and family historians that do not carry a typical schedule because soccer games and scout meetings get in the way. Those folks that are interested, but are trying to get to their Biology 101 class on time. The people that cannot necessarily afford to join their local society, or feel out of place in that environment.

If that sounds intriguing to you, I invite you to do any one of the following three things:


Join our group on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Fill out this Membership form to let us know you want in! 


As we continue to collaborate, we'll keep everyone posted on our progress. We do anticipate officially taking members sometime around the first week of July. Hope to see you online!

All of this is certainly keeping me busy, but it's such a good busy. I'm loving every moment of it. I am a proud, almost-card-carrying member ('cause we still have to make some cards!) of this organization, and I cannot wait to see what happens tomorrow!

My first look at the Digital Public Library of America

 How excited were you to explore this new amazing resource?

First glimpse: beautiful.

I was very pleased to open the Digital Public Library of America (or DPLA) on Sunday when I finally had some time to devote to it. The format, layout, color scheme… all very well done and easy to navigate. Thank goodness.

One thing that caught my attention right away was the “Timeline” link in the top menu. I love me a good timeline! Nearly every state I research in, this is a vital tool for me; finding a good online timeline for the area that gives me major events in the history of the area. I tried this first, in my exploration of the new site, and did a search for “Colorado.” The site came back with 17,324 results, beginning in 1827. The results were displayed in a graph, and you click on each bar of the graph to see the events. I chose the year 1859, since that was the year that gold was discovered in Breckenridge, to see if it made the list. What I got was this:

Screenshot of "Colorado" search results in the timeline feature. 21 Apr 2013.

Nine images related to “1859” in Colorado. The red link is a title, which then directs you to a citation and brief description of the book. I noticed that you can also view the results of the initial timeline search in list form, or by location on a map. A nice feature.

Screenshot of search results for "Colorado" in the timeline, but displayed on the map. 21 Apr 2013

My next exploration was a general search from the homepage. I looked up “Moravian,” since that is a topic I’m working on right now. It brought me 43 results – which is not too bad compared to other sites I have visited in the past week – and a quick scroll through brought me several options to review. I was able to locate exact articles (which then referred me to sites like Internet Archive); census records; images of artwork, historical objects and portraits, to name a few. One feature I particularly liked about the site was the availability to filter the results by the Owning Institution or online Partner, allowing me to chose just what I could access online. Other filtering options include location, subject, date and language. (Also a nice feature, since many Moravian records are in German!) 

First glance, I’m impressed. I see this becoming one of my “go-to” resources, for any major project and plan on using it often.

I recommend following the DPLA on Twitter or Facebook for the latest info and updates. You can find the links on their homepage: 

The Digital Public Library of America


Have you had a chance to explore the site yet? What are your thoughts? I would love to hear about it!