BPL Southern History Department Announces New 2020 Genealogy Workshop Schedule



The Birmingham Public Library’s Southern History Department is hosting a new series of genealogy workshops for 2020.

Workshops are free of charge, but advanced registration is requested. To register, contact the Southern History Department of the Birmingham Public Library at 205-226-3665 or askgenlocal@bham.lib.al.us.

Learn more about the resources the Southern History Department has to help research your family tree by following the BPL Southern History Facebook page.

The genealogy workshop schedule is as follows:

 • Tuesday, March 10, 2020, 10:30 a.m., Regional Library Computer Center - Ancestry.com Library Edition

Participants will be introduced to the Ancestry.com Library Edition database in which you can research your family history. Learn the tips and tricks about how to search this database like a librarian.
 •Saturday, March 21, 2020 10:00 a.m., Central Library Southern History Department- Intro to Genealogy

 Want to learn how to do genealogical research? Come to this introductory class that will help get you started on your genealogical journey. The staff in the Southern History Department covers such topics as vital records, courthouse and church records, and the Federal Census.

 •Tuesday, March 31, 2020 10:30 a.m., Regional Library Computer Center - FamilySearch.org Posting Family Trees 

Optimize how you post and improve your family tree on this free genealogy website, and learn how to defend it from changes by others.

 •Tuesday, March 31, 2020 2:15 p.m., Regional Library Computer Center- Our Digital "Presents": Exploring the Digital Collections of the Birmingham Public Library 

Learn how to navigate BPL's Digital Collections, your online library for photos, yearbooks, news clippings, and more. Discover how these records can contribute to your genealogical and historical research.


The Southern History Department has also announced a new series of workshops called Beyond the Basics of Genealogy. Each hour-long workshop will cover a different topics of genealogical research.

Each workshop will each take place in the 4th Floor Arrington Auditorium of the Central Library.

The Beyond the Basics of Genealogy workshop schedule is as follows:

May 3, 2020, 3:00 p.m. - Mastering GeneticAffairs.com 

Discover how to make the most of this effective and inexpensive match-sorting service, and learn how to utilize the valuable information that you receive from it in your genealogical research.

June 7, 2020, 3:00 p.m. - Stepping Off the Paper Trail: Revelation, Confirmation, and Proof 

Consider the very good reasons both to utilize and to ignore DNA evidence in your genealogical research, and discover both the benefits and the consequences of doing so.

July 19, 2020, 3:00 p.m. - How Our Ancestors Were Born: Using and Locating Birth Records for Genealogical Research 

Locating information about your ancestor’s date and place of birth is crucial to genealogy research. Learn about access to birth certificates, other (unexpected) places to find birth dates, and where that information can take you.

 August 16, 2020, 3:00 p.m. - How Our Ancestors Lived: Locating narratives that will reveal our ancestors’ unique stories.

 Between birth and death our ancestors lived. Discover research strategies that will reveal their experiences and help us understand who our ancestors were as part of history and as individuals.

October 18, 2020, 3:00 p.m. - How Our Ancestors Died: Death Records and Family History Research

Your research on ancestors is never really complete until you know how they died. Explore death records and discover just how tough people had to be to survive into adulthood and old age.

Comments