The IAJGS Conference is Coming Soon!

I announced previously when I learned that my talk "Bubbie, Who Are You?:  Finding the Maiden Names in Your Family Tree" was accepted for this year's International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies 2014 International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah from July 27–August 1.  The preliminary program has now been posted online, and while adjustments might be made between now and the conference, the bulk of the schedule is likely to remain the same.

There are plenty of interesting topics scheduled throughout the conference.  Some of the talks I am particularly looking forward to are "Newspapers.com" (which has great information but I have found an awkward site to use), "Jewish Life in Bessarabia as It Is Reflected in Bessarabian Newspapers, 1850–1930" (one branch of my family lived in Bessarabia from about 1894–1927), and "Sticking to the Union:  Using Labor Union Documents for Genealogical Research" (my great-grandfather was a strong union member and supporter).  I know I will learn a lot this year, as usual!

I discovered that my presentation is scheduled for Friday, August 1, the last day of the conference.  The last day is only a half day.  Traditionally, this is the day with the lowest attendance, and many people plan their trips to depart Thursday night.

That doesn't make Friday a throw-away day, however.  Last year's conference showed that IAJGS is trying to schedule interesting talks for Friday in an effort to encourage more people to stay through the entire conference.  One of the most useful sessions I attended last year, Vivian Kahn and Rony Galan's quick-and-dirty Hebrew for family history researchers, was on Friday, and the room was packed.  I hope I draw that many people to my talk this year!