The Genealogical Reference Interview

Nicole Wedemeyer Miller, Adjunct Lecturer

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The Genealogists

• Wide range of goals, motivations,

educational levels, and knowledge of

library use.

How they roll…

• They want to hear it, not read it.

• They start narrow and then expand.

• They want name access.

• Many need instruction on how to research.

(per research of Elizabeth Yakel)

Because…

• have not researched or haven’t in decades

• may lack computer skills

• might need a referral to a source of extra

help.

This is a golden opportunity!

You can recruit brand new library patrons.

1. First Contact

• Body language & smile

• Sitting vs. standing or circulating

• Greeting

The Greeting

• NOT “How may I help you?”

instead:

“What may I help you find today?”

and later…

“Let me get you started by…”

2. Establishing the contexts

It takes information to get information.

A name plus…

• Geographic—where they lived

• Chronological—when they lived

• Socioeconomic—how they lived

“My grandfather Bob Smith lived in

Tuskegee, Alabama.”

No Assumptions!

“Was his full name Robert Smith?”

“No, it was Bobby Joe Smith.”

Geographical Context

• Boundaries shift, place names change.

• People move.

Georeference Tools

• Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

• Geographic Names Information System

(GNIS)

• Old U.S. Post Office Guides

• Many gazetteers and place name

dictionaries

• For Europe: JewishGen Gazetteer

Chronological Context

• Check SSDI for birth/death dates

• Also, ask questions to get a ballpark date.

• Is what they know enough to locate an

online tree with more/better dates?

• Who else could the patron ask in the

family?

Socioeconomic Context

• Profession

• Income level

• Ethnicity

• Sometimes it can be inferred if the other

two contexts are known.

Hit the brakes

• This is NOT a fast process.

• A typical negotiation takes 20 minutes!

3. Narrow the Focus

The Newbie

• “ I want to do my genealogy!”

Strategies

• How-to material

• FGS

• The packet

• How-to programming

• Genealogical society info.

The Gusher

This patron launches into The Story…

Strategies

• Try to fill in a pedigree chart as the patron

talks.

• Take notes.

• Shift the interview from a spoken to a

written exchange.

The Family History Reference

Question Sheet

The Optimist

• “Where’s the book with my family history?”

Strategies

• Explain how to find out if a genealogy has

been published on the patron’s family (or an

article, or a surname file, or an online tree).

• Give a lesson on message boards.

• Explain how to tell if the information is likely

to be good or not.

Search Vs. Research

• Many patrons do not understand the

difference.

The Disorganized

• The patron has a lot of stuff.

• The patron does not know exactly what

he/she has.

• The patron does not know how to make

sense of what he/she has.

Strategies

• Produce research checklists and explain

how he can inventory what he has found.

• Offer organizational information.

“Manage Your Genealogy Papers”

• Research logs

• Evernote

• genealogical software programs

• online trees

The Wounded

• Missing family members

• Black sheep/embarrassing events

• Genealogy as healing therapy

Strategies

• Privacy

• Empathy

• Confidentiality

• Careful referrals

• Outlets http://ibssg.org/blacksheep/

The Monopolizer

• The patron who is absolutely determined

to take every single minute of your desk

time.

Strategies

• Defer part of the question to another day.

• Schedule a one-on-one for another day.

• Cite your policy.

• Suggest a professional researcher.

The Shootist

• “What do you have about the Smiths?”

Strategy

• “If you could find just one thing about this

family today, what would it be?”

4. Identifying the Sources

• Look within your collection.

• Look at online sources.

• Look at other collections.

To Determine Record Groups

• Show patron the wiki at FamilySearch for his research location.

• Sketch out a quick timeline of the records available for his location and time period.

|----California Births 1905-1997-------------------------|

|----California Deaths 1905-1997----------------------|

|State Census 1900-15|

|U.S. Census 1900-1940--|

Online Sources

• Cyndi’s List

• Linkpendium

• Joe Beine’s lists

Hand them a compass

• U.S. Genweb

• Ancestry Red Book

• Locality Guide

• Find contact info. of largest public library in

their research locality

What if I’m clueless?

• Ask a co-worker

• Genealib listserv

• FHL wiki/volunteers

• Local societies

• Town historians

• www.eogen.com

• Stack Exchange, Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, Reddit

Sensei

• Do we teach them to fish, or hand them a

fish?

Recap

1. First Contact

2. Establish the contexts.

3. Narrow the focus.

4. Recommend sources.

5. Make a referral.

End with the positive

More than the building and the collection,

the staff is the library to the patron.