Let’s face it. Genealogical Societies are rapidly changing. With the advent of technology such as Zoom and A. I., more and more people are attending society meetings from the comfort of their own home. Less and less people are attending in person.

Of course they are. And there’s one reason why. It’s more convenient.

If there’s anything I’ve learned as a librarian and archivist it’s this: people will always choose convenience over optimal until there’s a need for them to choose optimal. I see it in how people access library and archival materials. I see it when people sit down to view their media at home when they choose streaming over a number of better audiovisual experiences. I see it all over the place.

Can I get this at home? Can I get it online? And, everything is online these days, why haven’t you provided a way for me to get access to it in my pajamas?

In a very broad and general sense, the questions embody how genealogical researchers engage with access to records via technology. There’s nothing inherently wrong with those practices either (although it’s a blatantly false assumption that everything is online). At work my colleagues and I have seen a drop in pedagogical content when classes are presented online. It’s difficult for instructors to assess and evaluate student learning outcomes when it’s more difficult to engage the class in person. And for many settings, engagement is the name of the game.  

Still, students want to take the course online. I get it. I really do. I love to engage in more convenient ways too. So am I saying that Genealogical Society meetings are worse via Zoom? Well, that’s debatable, and the answer depends on the content of the meeting. Unfortunately though, that’s not really the idea of this blog post today.

You see, gen societies used to corner the market on the educational opportunities available to genealogists. The society used to be where you went for educational classes, workshops, seminars, professional journals, and professional help. These days you can find much of the same content on social media, YouTube, Zoom society meetings, and other comparable technologies as you were getting from the society. And at a fraction of the cost. Much of it is on-demand as well.

Which finally leads me to the point. What is the genealogical society for these days? Many societies are trying to figure that out. I know I am. Other members of the board talk about the struggles ours and other societies are currently facing. Right now, I don’t know if I have all the answers. Or any answers.

But I do know one thing—members of the Mississippi Genealogical Society took me in when I moved to Mississippi. They accepted me, valued my input, asked me to serve. More importantly, they called me friend.

That’s what Genealogical Societies are for.

I know this because members (and nonmember friends) have participated in society meetings, both in person and via Zoom. They make comments, ask questions, serve refreshments, and banter about both the living and the dead. Members of the society get together with each other outside of society meetings, they make friends, help each other with various problems, and make the admission price well worth the value.

Outside of the meetings, some of them text me, email me, and communicate with me. They inform me of their needs, and they try to help others too. They find ways to associate with friends in and out of the community.

So as gen societies continue to struggle with their place amid changing technologies, it’s my recommendation to focus on the various needs they can provide the living, even if it’s not a domination of the genealogical education market. Maybe it’s genealogical travel or entertainment? Who knows? How can we best leverage the changing technology to engage a community, and not only on member of the society? These are just a couple of questions we can ask.

I'd also like to add this addendum. This article is definitely skewed towards in-person meetings. It's not meant to be that way so much as it's meant to show that society meetings are evolving. Zoom and other technologies are helpful and convenient. They broaden our opportunities for how we consume our content, especially genealogical education. My point here is that societies should focus on how to help their members thrive in a world that can be accessed both in-person or online. The question before us is--how?

Anyway, that’s all I have for today. In the meantime, I only know gen societies need to focus on the living, because only the living can help the living remember the dead in a meaningful manner.

Even when it’s done via Zoom.