Category Archives: Jefferson County

BPL Southern History Dept: Beyond the Basics of Genealogy 2012 is here!!

From our friends in the Southern History Department at the Birmingham Public Library:

Thank you for showing interest in our Beyond the Basics of Genealogy class
series. We have announced the classes for 2012.

See http://www.bplonline.org/about/press/Default.aspx?id=372 for more
details.

Take a look and register for the ones that look interesting. Space is
limited to the first 16, and they will go quickly!

Southern History Department
Birmingham Public Library

March 11, 2012 — BAAGSG Meeting — Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama

The Birmingham African-American Genealogy Study Group (BAAGSG) meets the second Sunday of each month (ex. May and November) in the Arrington Auditorium at the Downtown Birmingham Public Library. Guests are welcome!

Next meeting: Sunday, March 11, 2012, 3 p.m.

Program Topic: Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama

Instructor: Donald Debrow

Details: Josephine Martin (205-901-6387) or contact us via e-mail

The program will be an introduction and analysis of the resource guide by Frazine Taylor.

Please come and bring interested historian or genealogist with you. This will be our first official class this year. Come with your list of un-answered questions, be ready to take notes and have you pedigree charts on hand.   If you do not have one, we will be happy to provide one for you.

BGS Meeting — February 25, 2012 — Compiling Your Family History for Publication

The Birmingham Genealogical Society meets the fourth Saturday of each month (ex. Nov. & Dec.) at the Downtown Birmingham Public Library. Guests are always welcome!

Next meeting: Saturday, February 25th at 2 p.m.; Board Meeting at 1:15 p.m.

Meeting Room: Arrington Auditorium, 3rd Floor, Linn-Henley Building

Speaker:  Mary Taylor, Past-President of BGS

Program Topic: Compiling Your Family History for Publication

Whether you have researched your family tree for 1 month or 10 years, we all face the same challenge: what to do with all the information we have collected.  Mary’s rich background experience in genealogical research will enable her to share valuable tips on how to organize and publish all the work you have gathered.

NOTE:  Please note with this month’s meeting, we resume meeting in the Arrington Auditorium.

Save the SSDI – Sign the Stop ID Theft NOW! Petition

From our friends at the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS):

Call to Action – Help Save the
Social Security Death Index

Your help is needed in our Stop ID Theft NOW! campaign and our efforts to preserve the Social Security Death Index as an accessible record set for genealogists and family historians.

What you can do:

1. Learn more at the SSDI FAQ here.
2. Sign the We The People petition at http://wh.gov/khE.
3. Spread the word , especially to your genealogy society members and colleagues. Forward this email to them or send them the SSDI petition press release – download it here.

Our goal is to get as many signatures, as quickly as possible, so that the solutions to fraudulent tax refund claims based upon identity theft from recently deceased infants & adults can be taken seriously and implemented immediately. Doing so will help us ensure that the SSDI is available to not just genealogists, but all researchers and information professionals who rely upon its contents.

Thank you!

Note: click here for step-by-step instructions on using the We The People site to sign the petition. Some users have reported issues with creating an account and signing the petition.

Do not let technical difficulties keep you from signing! Contact petition@fgs.org if you encounter problems – we’re here to help!
Follow all the latest SSDI and other records access news
at the RPAC blog at .

Genealogy Database Heritage Quest Discontinued as Countywide Library Service

JCLC donations to retain the Heritage Quest databases fell drastically short of the dollars needed to renew the subscription.

We understand from the JCLC that the libraries in Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Hoover and Homewood have renewed their local licenses and Jefferson County library cardholders will be able to access HQ at these physical locations. Remote access will be limited to cardholders who live in these cities. For cardholders in the city of Birmingham, the Birmingham Public Library will continue to offer Ancestry.com Library Edition on-site as well.

Read the full article posted today on the Birmingham Public Library blog:

http://bplolinenews.blogspot.com/2012/02/genealogy-database-heritage-quest.html

Hoover Public Library discussion series “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War”

The Hoover Public Library is hosting a reading and discussion series, titled “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War”. The next event is January 31st:

Topic: Book Discussion – Choosing Sides (selections from America’s War anthology)

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 – 7 pm

Location: Theatre level meeting rooms, Hoover Public Library

Scholar: John Mayfield PhD, Department of History, Samford University

Registration is required. Call 444-7840 to register.

The series continues through April. See the Hoover Public Library website for upcoming event details.