Tag: archives

R E G I S T R A T I O N  F O R  G E N – F E D   V I R T U A L – 2 O 2 2

A drawing for the remaining seats plus 20 waitlist names will be held online live on Saturday, March 12th, at 10 am Pac./11 am Mtn./12 pm Cent./1 pm EDT.  We originally planned to host that publicly, but due to privacy concerns, the link will only be shared with those persons who signed up for a chance at registration. Thank you for your understanding.

If you are one of the over 100 requests we received for the remaining seats, please check your emails and your spam folders for the link.  Attendance is not required to gain a seat.

A total of 30 seats will be drawn for registration and 20 waitlist names, in case of cancellations. The drawing will be completely randomized, we want to make this as fair as we can.

Good luck!

Rebecca & Cinda

R E G I S T E R   N O W   F O R   G E N – F E D   V I R T U A L

Read the following carefully before registering:

• Gen-Fed will be held virtually Monday, August 8th through Saturday, August 13th. Classes run everyday 10 am to 6 pm EST, except Saturday which ends at noon.
• Registration will stay open until Monday, March 7th at 6 pm Pac./7 pm Mtn./8 pm Cent./9 pm EDT.
• The applicants’ names will be put in a drawing throughout that week, therefore the day and time of application will not determine place in line for a seat.
• A drawing for the remaining seats (once we know how many of the current students will stay), plus 20 waitlist names will be held online LIVE on Saturday, March 12th, at 10 am Pac./11 am Mtn./12 pm Cent./1 pm EDT.  We will post the link for that a few days before here at this website news page.
• By registering, you accept the responsibility to pay the institute fee by check or money order of $575.00.
• Note: Due to limited seating, it is Gen-Fed policy to not allow persons to re-take Gen-Fed again for 5 years.

Please use the airtable link here to register: https://airtable.com/shrYzeJRCxg5M7Zwn.

For your information (and anticipation!) the classes and events you can expect for the virtual session:*

• Pre-Class Videos: History of NARA & Understanding Accessioning; Ordering Records; Using Finding Aids
• The National Archives’ Catalog by archivist Claire Kluskens
• NARA’s Records—Coast to Coast by archivist Trevor Plante
• Q&A with NARA Archivists
• NARA Records in Other Online Sources by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
• US Immigration & Nationality: Beyond Basics with Marian L. Smith
• Blasting Brick Walls with Legislative Records by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
• Mining Land Entry Records with Angela Packer McGhie, CG, FUGA
• Basic Military Records at NARA by archivist John Deeben
• Pension Records at the National Archives by Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL
• Reward for Service: Bounty Land Records by Angela Packer McGhie, CG, FUGA
• Introduction to the Records of NARA Fort Worth by archivist Jenny Sweeny
• Records of Archives II: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Records by Archives Staff
• Records of Archives II: Federal Civilian Agency Records by Archives Staff
• Introduction to the Library of Congress for Genealogists by Ahmed Johnson & Staff
• Underused Sources at the National Archives by Debra Hoffman, PLCGS
• Unique Map Holdings by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
• Researching Enslaved African Americans in Federal Records by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, FASG
• Introduction to Federal Records Documenting Native Americans by Kenneth W. Heger, PhD
• Court Records: Making a Federal Case Out of It by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL
• BCG Board Certification: Your Questions Answered with LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, FASG
• Busted, Bankrupt, Banged Up: Stories in Federal Court Records by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL
• Introduction to the Daughters of the American Revolution Library by Elizabeth Ernst
• …and throughout the week: 1) hands-on practice exercises dealing with many of the records we learn about, 2) each student signs up for a 20-minute personal session with a archival records specialist, 3) one each personal military consultation with specialist Jonathan Webb Deiss, and 4) each student is promised 2 record pulls (within reasonable limits!) once the Archives opens. (*sessions subject to change)

We can’t wait to see you there!

Rebecca & Cinda

GEN-FED 2022 WILL BE A VIRTUAL SESSION

As much as we hope that the National Archives may be open in August, we fear it may not be as open as we wish or that it may be forced to close again just as we are ready to start classes.  So it is with an abundance of caution (and disappointment) we make the decision to hold Gen-Fed virtually again.  Our instructors’ and students’ safety is our primary consideration.

• Gen-Fed will still be held Monday, August 8th through Saturday, August 13th.
• A registration link will be posted to this website, here at Gen-Fed.org News on Tuesday, March 1st. The link opens that day at 6 am Pac./7 am Mtn./8 am/Cent./9 am EDT and it will stay open until Monday, March 7th at 6 pm Pac./7 pm Mtn./8 pm Cent./9 pm EDT.
• The applicants’ names will be put in a drawing throughout that week, therefore the day and time of application will not determine place in line for a seat.
• A drawing for the remaining seats (once we know how many of the current students will stay), plus 20 waitlist names will be held online LIVE on Saturday, March 12th, at 10 am Pac./11 am Mtn./12 pm Cent./1 pm EDT.  We will post the link for that a few days before here at this website news page.
• The price for Gen-Fed will remain the same as it has since 2020: $575.00 for the week.

Our next most important consideration, besides safety, is the quality of instruction. While none of us can really predict what will happen about closings, we can certainly predict the excellence of our instructors’ talents, no matter the situation.  As a precursor, here are the classes and events you can expect for the virtual session:*

• Pre-Class Videos: History of NARA & Understanding Accessioning; Ordering Records; Using Finding Aids
• The National Archives’ Catalog by archivist Claire Kluskens
• NARA’s Records—Coast to Coast by archivist Trevor Plante
• Q&A with NARA Archivists
• NARA Records in Other Online Sources by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
• US Immigration & Nationality: Beyond Basics with Marian L. Smith
• Blasting Brick Walls with Legislative Records by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
• Mining Land Entry Records with Angela Packer McGhie, CG, FUGA
• Basic Military Records at NARA by archivist John Deeben
• Pension Records at the National Archives by Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL
• Reward for Service: Bounty Land Records by Angela Packer McGhie, CG, FUGA
• Introduction to the Records of NARA Fort Worth by Archives Staff
• Records of Archives II: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Records by Archives Staff
• Records of Archives II: Federal Civilian Agency Records by Archives Staff
• Introduction to the Library of Congress for Genealogists by Ahmed Johnson & Staff
• Underused Sources at the National Archives by Debra Hoffman, PLCGS
• Unique Map Holdings by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
• Researching Enslaved African Americans in Federal Records by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, FASG
• Introduction to Federal Records Documenting Native Americans by Kenneth W. Heger, PhD
• Court Records: Making a Federal Case Out of It by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL
• BCG Board Certification: Your Questions Answered with LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, FASG
• Busted, Bankrupt, Banged Up: Stories in Federal Court Records by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL
• Introduction to the Daughters of the American Revolution Library by Elizabeth Ernst
• …and throughout the week: 1) hands-on practice exercises dealing with many of the records we learn about, 2) each student signs up for a 20-minute personal session with a archival records specialist, 3) one each personal military consultation with specialist Jonathan Webb Deiss, and 4) each student is promised 2 record pulls (within reasonable limits!) once the Archives opens. (*sessions subject to change)

Please stay safe and well everyone. We hope to see you there!

Rebecca & Cinda

The big question in my emails all month has been “When does registration start for Gen-Fed 2022?”

The answer is: hopefully soon.  The wave of different variants of the COVID virus and rates of inoculation have changed the dynamic this year, but it is still too soon to tell if we can have Gen-Fed in person at NARA in Washington D.C., or if we should hold it virtually.  So we ask you to wait patiently with us a little more.

Updates to research room policies at NARA are found at https://www.archives.gov/coronavirus.  If NARA does take a large group, we still do not know if they will take our full capacity of students (so we do not know how many yet to register if we go in person).  If we are there in person, be prepared that the current NARA vaccination status rules state that researchers/students will have to be fully vaccinated and sign an attestation form. Or unvaccinated researchers/students must bring a negative COVID-19 test, see: https://www.archives.gov/research/news/faqs-research-room-reopenings.

We will do our next update and hopefully make a decision by President’s Day, February 21st.  As with last year, if Gen-Fed is virtual this year, those who already have a seat will be allowed to defer to another year. Whatever does happen, we have the most amazing staff of instructors and archivists to make your learning a success.

Thank you,

Rebecca & Cinda