Symposium Schedule
Friday, October 13
| Time | Title | Speaker | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30 am | Welcome and Opening Remarks | D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA | Join NYG&B President D. Joshua Taylor for brief remarks and an overview of the symposium. |
| 9:50–10:30 am | Keynote | To be announced | |
| 10:45–11:45 am | Genealogy and the (New) Artificial Intelligence | Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., JD | New artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Google Bard and ChatGPT are all the rage, but can they assist genealogists with their research? If so, how? This session will shed light on the benefits and limitations of AI tools for genealogical research. Blaine will also examine some of the more popular tools and the ways that genealogists are using these tools. |
| 11:45 am–1:00 pm | Lunch Break | (Lunch will be provided for those attending in-person.) | |
| 1:00–2:00 pm | Archiving Social Media | Carly Lane Morgan | As our lives become increasingly intertwined with online platforms, it's crucial to understand the importance of preserving this valuable digital heritage. Carly will explore the challenges and strategies involved in archiving social media content, both from an individual and organizational perspective, as well as the legal concerns and opportunities involved in saving social media legacies. |
| 2:15–3:15 pm | OCR Unleashed: Revolutionizing Genealogy Research for the Modern Era | Jennifer Baldwin | Optical character recognition (OCR) technology has transformed how we conduct genealogical research, but the technology itself continues to improve. Jennifer will explore the development of OCR and offer insights into its future, focusing specifically on digitized newspapers and the wealth of information available within them. Discover how OCR enhances your ability to search, analyze, and interpret these invaluable resources. |
| 3:30–4:30 pm | Man and Machine Learning: Bridging the Gap Between Volunteers and Handwriting-Recognition Technology in Historical Records | John K. Alexander, MA, MLIS | FamilySearch uses handwriting-recognition technology to create machine-searchable text from digitized historical images. However, the quality of the data is often lower than desired. John will examine this issue using case studies from Hungarian civil records, Spanish church records, and the 1950 U.S. Census. |
Saturday, October 14
| Time | Title | Speaker | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30–10:30 am | Technology in Practice: What's New from the NYG&B Digital Services Team | Ryan Gleason and Kalyn Loewer, MA | Join the NYG&B's digital services team for a look at how new technologies have advanced our mission to preserve New York's records. The presenters will include an overview of the NYG&B's digitization operations and other activities. |
| 10:45–11:45 am | Third-Party DNA Tools | Jonny Perl | Learn what third-party tools for DNA are, why they exist, and the role they play in the genealogy and DNA-testing ecosystem. Jonny will also discuss how to access and evaluate third-party tools and share examples of how they can be used to further genealogical research. |
| 11:45 am–1:00 pm | Lunch Break | (Lunch will be provided for those attending in-person.) | |
| 1:00–2:00 pm | Automated Source Citation Tools | Nicole Dyer | If writing your own source citations seems daunting, you may want to try an automated source citation generator. Learn about the various tools available and how they can aid genealogy research and writing. From genealogy-specific tools like Cite-Builder and Goldie May to Chicago Manual of Style tools like Citation Machine, attendees will come away with knowledge of several options. |
| 2:15–3:15 pm | Twists and Turns: Twenty Years as a Genetic Genealogist | Blaine Bettinger | In the 20 years since he took his first genetic genealogy test, Blaine has watched the field grow from a handful of enthusiasts to millions of test-takers around the world. In this session, Blaine will look back on his experiences over the past 20 years, including surprises and how he broke down challenging brick walls. |
| 3:30–4:30 pm | Panel: AI, Ethics, and other Topics | Blaine Bettinger, D. Joshua Taylor, and others | This panel will offer an engaging conversation relating to ethical considerations when using AI, DNA, and other forms of technology for genealogical research. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions of their own. |
About the Presenters
John K. Alexander has a Master of Arts in History from the University of Utah and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington. He is a product manager at FamilySearch with 12 years of experience on the FamilySearch Cataloging, Indexing, and Collection Management teams.
Jen Baldwin is the research specialist and North American content manager for Findmypast, and she lectures, writes, and consults on a variety of genealogy-related topics. She has presented internationally and focuses on unique resources that allow for a different perspective on family history research.
Dr. Blaine Bettinger is a professional genealogist specializing in DNA evidence and author of TheGeneticGenealogist.com, one of the earliest blogs on the topic. Blaine is also the author of The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy and co-author with Debbie Parker Wayne of the award-winning Genetic Genealogy in Practice, the world’s first genetic genealogy workbook. He also co-authored “Genetics for Genealogy” with Judy Russell in 2018’s Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (ProGen PPS). Blaine is or has been an instructor for genetic genealogy courses at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, and Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research. Blaine is a graduate of ProGen Study Group 21 and a trustee for the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B).
Nicole Elder Dyer is a professional genealogist specializing in southern United States research and genetic genealogy. She is the creator of FamilyLocket.com and the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast. She co-authored Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide and Research Like a Pro with DNA.
Ryan Gleason oversees the NYG&B’s digital properties, including the digitization and maintenance of record collections and their corresponding search tools. Prior to the NYG&B, Ryan was the Director of Digital Strategy for New York Institute of Technology, one of the State’s premier STEM institutions. He specializes in front-end content development, search engine optimization, and site redesigns, especially as pertains to education and ecommerce.
Kalyn Loewer is the manager of digital collections at the NYG&B, and she uses digital preservation and archival techniques to support the NYG&B’s mission to preserve, document, and share family history. She works to digitize documents from all over New York State and makes materials available to researchers via the online collections. She also educates communities about how to access and maximize the NYG&B’s online collections. Kalyn was the recipient of the John. C. Gorman '38 Medal for Excellence in History from St. Francis College in 2021.
Carly Lane Morgan owns Family Tree Notebooks, an organization system based on digital worksheets. She is a frequent speaker and focuses on diversity, social media, and digital organization. She serves on the committee for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and as the marketing chair for the California Genealogical Society.
Jonny Perl is a genealogist, DNA enthusiast, and web developer based in Swansea, Wales. He is the creator and founder of dnapainter.com, an award-winning website that features popular tools for family history enthusiasts working with DNA.
D. Joshua Taylor has been president of the NYG&B since 2016 and is an officer, trustee ex officio, on NYG&B’s Board of Trustees. A nationally known and recognized genealogist, Joshua has held senior leadership positions with Findmypast and the New England Historic Genealogical Society and has volunteered in leadership positions for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and other organizations. A prolific author and popular speaker, Joshua has been a coordinator for courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and is the recipient of RootsTech’s Distinguished Presenter Award. He has been a featured genealogist on Who Do You Think You Are? and was a host on the PBS series Genealogy Roadshow. Joshua holds a Master of Library Science degree in Archival Management and a Master of Arts degree in History from Simmons College.