1 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Who do you think you are? - as a reference question... Seonaid Lewis RLIANZ senior librarian, family history Central Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries LIANZA Conference 2014 Pou whakairo – thrive and connect

2 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Genealogy a study of pedigree Names Birth date Marriage Death – connecting relationships

3 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Family history – a study of pedigree & history Personal history Oral history Social history Local history National history World history Military history House history Ethnic history Religious history - Finding and verifying the stories

4 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Benefits of family history research Sense of belonging Info-literacy skills History and heritage Brings families together Adds to the nation’s knowledge of history Group portrait of Jonkers family with Private Cyril Gladwin Jonkers, Reg No 12/3372, of the Auckland Infantry Regiment, 8th Reinforcements Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 31-J1890

5 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Why the popularity?

6 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries The Karen Kalopulu Family History Lock-In attendees each year, from all over New Zealand Two people have come to all 10 40% have come to more than five Attendees from Australia & the UK Closes Family History Month Pre-Lock-In Tour of the Research Centre Pre-Lock-In Seminar

7 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Family history lunchtime series

8 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Family history month statistics TalksAve per eventAttendees Statistics for speakers from Central Auckland Research Centre 2014 – three people delivered 35 sessions each

9 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Region-wide total TalksAve per eventAttendees Statistics for all speakers from across Auckland Libraries From one speaker in 2010 to 12 speakers across the region

10 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Reference desk enquiries Family history month talks initially increased desk inquiries in August – hugely in 2012 As events have increased the statistics have settled down People are busy attending events People are realising that we have online resources they can use at their own branch Local librarians are able to help them with queries

11 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries 2014 Family History Month Auckland Libraries family history eResources; Auckland Libraries family history eResources; Beginners guide to Ancestry; Beginners guide to Ancestry; Beginners guide to FindMyPast; Beginners guide to FindMyPast; Beginning your family history; Beginning your family history; Brick walls: tips and tricks to help solve your family history puzzle; Brick walls: tips and tricks to help solve your family history puzzle; British Newspaper Archive; British Newspaper Archive; Captives of the Kaiser: Researching Prisoners of War during the First World War; Captives of the Kaiser: Researching Prisoners of War during the First World War; Doing family history: a journey to Matakana; Doing family history: a journey to Matakana; Family history roadshow; Family history roadshow; Hospital records; Hospital records; Military: The use of the official histories; Military: The use of the official histories; Newspapers and magazines for family history; Newspapers and magazines for family history; Pacific Island resources; Pacific Island resources; Passenger lists and immigration; Passenger lists and immigration; Poor law; Poor law; Probate and wills; Probate and wills; Question and answer sessions; Question and answer sessions; Researching First World War records; Researching First World War records; Researching your Irish ancestry; Researching your Irish ancestry; Searching for your family on the internet; Searching for your family on the internet; Whakapapa storytime; Whakapapa storytime; Whakapapa for adults; Whakapapa for adults; Whakapapa for rangatahi (children) Whakapapa for rangatahi (children) Beginners and intermediate-advanced strands Children, teens and adults sessions

12 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Promoting events Library website Posters and leaflets Social media:- Facebook, Twitter.... Eventfinda Library Listservs Genealogy mailing lists Rootschat forum Community newspapers Occasionally national press

13 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Benefits to Auckland Libraries Customer satisfaction Increase staff skills and knowledge across the region Increase visits to libraries and research centres Showcase the online Family History eResources on Auckland Libraries Digital Library Highlight the family and local history collections at Central Auckland Research Centre and the other Research Centres Discuss the special collections held at Sir George Grey Special Collections Raises Auckland Libraries profile nationally and internationally

14 “Who do you think you are?” as a reference question – Seonaid Lewis, family history librarian, Auckland Libraries Where to from here? Improve access for customers: Remote film-viewers? CD-Roms loaded to server? Videoing for pod-casts? Live-streaming? More digitization...