It feels like an age since the last #genchat we had…and it’s coming up again this Friday!

It is with bittersweet feeling that I’m announcing the end of #genchat as we know it as of December 12 on Bluesky and 13 on Mastodon. There are several reasons for this:

#InternetArchive tip from Thomas MacEntee: on your account, you can create your own lists of items! For example, he had a list for Crandell Genealogy in which he saved all books on that subject. #genchat

Just discovered that there is a new Newberry Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. I'm not sure I like the interface, though. #genealogy publications.newberry.org/ahcb/

And that's another #genchat ! Thanks for all the inspiration, tips & heartfelt comments. Next time (November 14), we're "going to court" - talking about court records: in person & online. See you then!

Speaking of full text search, what I'm finding is giving me so much fodder for my blog! Unfortunately, I haven't had time to do actual writing lately. #genchat

And now it's time for #genchat !! Hello, everyone & welcome to our Open Mic about Family History Writing!

Hey: #genchat on Bluesky is tomorrow!

#GenChat Check out the events page! October is Family History month so the ACPL's Genealogy Center usually goes all-out with interesting presentations. The librarians are awesome and really friendly.

And that is the hour! Thank you for virtually exploring the ACPL with me! Our next #genchat will be on October 24 - an Open Mic on Family History Writing! Join us!

I have to admit, the PERSI database seems so much more user-friendly than I remember it being in the past. #genchat

A5 #genchat The link for PERSI is: www.genealogycenter.info/persi/ You're welcome!

Q5 #genchat What do you know about the Periodical Source Index (PERSI)?

A4 #genchat Also under #GenchatsCollide - ACPL has a corner of the Internet Archive! archive.org/details/alle...

A4 #genchat when you look at their databases, you can filter by if you can view offsite & there are plenty. ACPL also has some neat collections, too.

Q4 #genchat What are some of their online resources?

A3 #genchat And as always, see what you can find online first (even if it's just a finding aid) so you can focus on the off-line stuff. But speaking of online...

We started to answer this, but: Q3 #genchat If you’re visiting in-person, how do you make the most of your experience?

By the way, NGS 2026 will be in Fort Wayne, IN (where ACPL is). I wouldn't be surprised if they'd have special hours during the conference. #genchat

A2 #genchat So, in person: any in-person programs at the genealogy center, many of the databases, and of course the physical materials like books & such!

Q2 #genchat What are some of their in-person resources?

A1 #genchat ACPL has a "Getting Started" guide; kind of like a finding aid: www.acpl.lib.in.us/_files/ugd/a...

Q1 #genchat ACPL is vast! How do you begin familiarizing yourself with their holdings and offerings?

ICEBREAKER #genchat Have you ever used any of the resources of the ACPL?

So let's get started... #genchat

Tonight we are talking about the wonderful Allen County Public Library, a treasure trove for #genealogy ! This will be another “open book” #genchat so feel free to have this tab open in your browser: www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy For brevity, I’ll be calling the Allen County Public Library “ACPL”.

Hello, everyone & welcome to #genchat on BlueSky (such as it is tonight)! Please bear with me & the other #genchatters tonight because Bluesky isn't loving us today!

OMG...Deck Blue is slower than molasses in January tonight, though I have it on the fastest setting. This is gonna be a heck of a night. #genchat

I guess I have to re-post my personal profile?? >:( #genchat

PSA: for some reason, the #genchat feed by BlueSkyFeedCreator hasn't fed in 13 days. Not sure why; nothing is jumping out at me. So just follow the hashtag via searching it, or follow allong on Deck . Blue.

Friday’s #genchat should be interesting!

Well, we're winding down for the evening. Thanks for all your stories, shares, questions, etc. tonight. Next time (October 10) we'll be chatting about the Allen County Public Library. I'm really curious about it! #genchat

Here is the link regarding the #WikiTreeSymposium for your information! #genchat www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Wi...

Riddle me this, #genchatters ... If one has a free Ancestry account, then shouldn't one be able to view "public trees"? Just a little rant... #genchat

Well, here's a latest something in my #genealogy world: the genealogy society I belong to is celebrating its 50th anniversary. They're having their meeting on Zoom tomorrow. #genchat

@cferra1227.bsky.social Hey, since sign-up for the #WikiTreeSymposium is coming up, do you have any news about that? #genchat

Well, it's #genchat time for Bluesky & we have Another Plain Old Open Mic. Anything #genealogy goes! What are you up to? Have you applied anything from past chats to your research? Any new discoveries?

Hey, #genchat is this Friday!

When government records disappear, who protects our history? James Jacobs, Jim Jacobs, & Shari Laster explain how to keep our history & democracy accessible in the latest Future Knowledge #podcast, PRESERVING GOVERNMENT INFORMATION. 🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️ futureknowledge.transistor.fm

Breaking #genchat news: here is a link about backing up sites on the #InternetArchive ! help.archive.org/help/save-pa...

#GenChat Before we go, a reminder. If you haven't made an account at the Internet Archive yet, do that before you search! Then you can star (favorite) items that you want to keep track of.

We're going to have a lot of fun the next few weeks, aren't we? Perhaps we can talk about some of our finds at our next #genchat on Sept 26: Another Plain Old Open Mic!

Oh by the way: the audio includes things like 78 RPMs and wax cylinder recordings! #genchat

Q5 #genchat Have you thought about uploading any of your own video or audio to the Internet Archive?

A4 #genchat Here is a tip from me: especially with video & audio, the "year" may or may not be the year. They have the year 10,003 or the like. It all depends on who was indexing it. So be flexible in searching years.

Q4 #genchat Do you have some tips for searching videos and audio?

Q3 #genchat Regarding video & audio and ancestral places, there may be documentaries/news stories about a town's history, or even a house history! There also are tons of home movies on the IA that your family or someone in your FAN may have posted.

Q3 #genchat What items might shed light on the places your ancestors lived in?

A2 #genchat I was thinking about things like recordings songs our ancestors would sing, radio programs they'd listen to, and later, TV shows they'd watch.

Not exactly ancestral, but maybe our own history: you can find some old video games in the video collection! #genchat