TGP 48 – Audrey Collins & The UK National Archives
Featured Guest
Audrey Collins
Audrey Collins is a Records Specialist in Family History at The National Archives (TNA) at Kew in England. Audrey Collins worked as a freelance researcher for 15 years before
joining the staff of The National Archives. In 2001 she was engaged by the Office for National Statistics as their official Census historian for the bicentenary census in that year, and also served on the advisory panel for the 1901 census digitisation project.
Audrey is the author of three titles in the ‘Basic Facts’ series of family history guides, co-wrote The Complete Guide to Tracing Your Family History and has also contributed sections in the Family History Companion, and Census: the expert guide. She regularly gives talks at external events and conferences in the UK, Ireland and the USA. Her research interests include: the history and operation of the General Register Office, Civil Registration and the UK census; Scottish and Irish records in The National Archives; newspapers and periodicals and retail history.
Contact Links
Facebook – Audrey Collins
Twitter – @AudreyCollins23
Other Links
One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now
“Find out what other genealogists do. Work out what the opportunities are . . . Look for something that not that many people are doing that you know you can do well.”
Recommended Book
The Family Tree Detective: A Manual for Tracing Your Ancestors in England and Wales by Colin D. Rogers
Productivity Tool
Advice
“Always go back and look at what you did before.“
Action Item
I loved what Audrey had to say about networking. She said she was able to learn how Americans do research and the assumptions they have because of networking with them. And that helps her better serve them when they come to the archives.
Networking is important and it can change how you perceive other genealogists, your clients, and the people who serve you such as librarians and archivists.
ACTION:
I want you to get and do some networking! I’m going to give you two options for this action item.
Your first option is to find a local genealogy society, club or group near you. Find out where and when their next event is and attend, in person.
The second option is to choose someone you know already know (but not too well) and invite them for coffee (or tea as the case may be). This can be done either in person or virtually using a tool like Skype.
Connecting with other genealogists will help you see a different side of the community and it will be fun! So get out there.
Direct link to this post: http://www.thegenealogyprofessional.com/audrey-collins/
NEWS
In News items, I am just back from the APG Professional Management Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended. And I so appreciated that it was focused on the professional and business aspects of genealogy.
I’d like to do a followup podcast episode dedicated to the PMC 2016 and I’d like your help! I’d like to hear from attendees, speakers, committee members and board members so that they can share the positive benefits that the conference had on them. This involves recording a short audio clip that can be used in the podcast. I’d like to do the recordings on Tuesday September 27th or Friday, September 30th 2016. If you’d like to participate, send me an email at contact@thegenealogy professional.com Everyone is welcome so don’t be shy!
During the Month of October I will be offering two webinars.
The first on Thursday October 20th is called “Boosting Facebook Posts and Creating Saved Audiences.” I know what you’re thinking – “I’m never going to need to Boost a post.” Learning to Boost a post on Facebook is actually an important skill that you should have before you need to use it. You might not need to use it for your own business but it would be a great skill that would benefit a society or organization that you volunteer for. And what about those Saved Searches? That’s the most important and critical part. Saved searches allow you to target exactly who you want to reach. Setting them up is easy once you learn how.
The second webinar follows this same theme. Once you’ve create a boosted post you’ll want to track how well it does – and not just with Facebook Insights. The 2nd webinar is called “Tracking Success – Who Really Visits my Blog and Website.” In this webinar we will take a close look at a free tool called utm tracking and how it is used in conjunction with Google Analytics to give you precise details about who is visiting your website, blog or YouTube channel and from where. This is better information than you can get from the insights or analytics built into your website or blog platform. You may be surprised to discover how your audience or followers are really finding you.
The webinars cost $19.99 each. For more details or to sign up, go to www.TheGenealogyProfessional.com
New **SLIG Scholarship for First-Time Institute Attendees*
The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy is pleased to announce that applications for a new SLIG Scholarship are being accepted.
*Who can apply: The winning candidate is probably not yet employed in the industry, or working in a related non-research position; are most likely not advanced in their research skills; and might even be self-taught. Regardless of level of experience, they have a few things in common: 1) they have not yet attended any of the national genealogical institutes; 2) they are ready for a more in-depth learning experience at an intermediate (or above) level; and 3) they would like to attend SLIG. If you fit this description, you are eligible to apply. Successful applicants will receive full tuition toward the course of their choice for SLIG 2017. Visit ugagenealogy.org for more information.
BCG Day
The Board for Certification of Genealogists will be offering a Free Day of Quality Education on October 7th in Salt Lake City. Top genealogists Pamela Boyer Sayre, Elizabeth Shown Mills, Ann Staley, Jeanne Bloom, David McDonald, and Judy Russell will present six one-hour lectures held at the Family History Library between 9 AM and 5 PM. The lectures are free and open to the public. Most will also be broadcast online. You can register for the online webinars by visiting www.familytreewebinars.com/BCG.
Lastly, a shout out to LittleDochy and Love to Research for leaving reviews for the show in iTunes. I really appreciate the time you took to leave the review and let me know you like the show. Thank you!
