2024 Family History Month has Kicked Off at the Birmingham Public Library

 

2024 Family History Month programs have kicked off at the Birmingham Public Library. Started in 2001, Family History Month is held in October as a month-long celebration to encourage people to explore and preserve their family history. It's a great opportunity to learn about your family's traditions, culture, and heritage, and connect with relatives both near and far. 

 BPL's Southern History Department holds a variety of genealogy programs throughout the year to make it easier for patrons to research and document their family tree. Family History Month is a time to highlight the important role our genealogy programs can play in helping patrons learn more about their family past.

 BPL is hosting 6 programs this year including two already held: 

 Google Your Peeps October 2, a program that showed patrons how to use the Internet to research their family's past; and You are Here: Using Digitized Maps in Historical and Genealogical Research October 9, a program on how to use the world of online maps and how they can fit into your research.

Upcoming programming:

Find It Online - Wednesday, October 16, 2024 10:00 a.m., BPL Computer Center and online via Zoom 

When you need that one book for your family history research and your local library doesn’t have it… what do you do? In this course we’ll take a look at numerous resources for locating books, magazines, and other genealogical materials online. 

Family History Month Open House, Saturday, October 19, 2024 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., BPL Southern History Department 

Stop by the Southern History Department and meet the experts from the Birmingham Genealogical Society for a free research consultation. Bring your brick walls and meet a dedicated group of genealogists eager to help. Learn more about how their organization supports genealogy and local history and how you can be a part of it. Consultations will last approximately 15 minutes. Pre-registration is recommended for best results. Just send a short description of your area of research and/or question to BGS at birminghamgenealogy@yahoo.com. Beginners are welcome! 

Really Basic Genetic Genealogy October 23, 2024 11:00 p.m., BPL Computer Center and online via Zoom 

If you want to get started or restarted in genetic genealogy, there is a simple way to put your DNA test to use. Paul Boncella identifies what genetic genealogy can do, shows where to find the necessary mechanisms on a test company’s website, and then demonstrates how to make effective use of them. He then answers questions on this and any other aspect of genetic genealogy. 

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Southern History Department October 31, 2024 10:00am, BPL Southern History Department

Join the staff of the Southern History Department for a look behind the scenes! Learn about the history of the Research Library, its collection of genealogy materials, maps, and microfilm. See treasures such as Miss Iwate, the Blaeu Atlas, the 1926 Zone map, and much more. Our conservationist and librarians are eager to show you what’s special about the library’s Special Collections.