Welcome to Day 4 of the #AtoZChallenge. Don't know what the AtoZChallenge is? Find out more here.
My theme is about Family History Societies. What they are, How they work, Who is in them, Why they exist. Which ones begin with D :)
I encourage you to go and have a look at each Society's website. What do you think of them? Are they easy to read? What stands out to you? Are there some good ideas you could use for your society?
I've already found a few things I like from the Devon Family History Society page. They identify what is free to Visitors and what is free to Members really easily. They also state up front what their USP or unique selling proposition is in this market savvy world i.e. that their strength lies in local and specialist knowledge.
One of the hardest things to achieve on a website is getting as much information as you can clearly on the front page without people having to "click through". People are notoriously lazy and if they can't see what they want on the first or front page, they move on. I can see at a glance how much membership is and what I can get for free. I reckon that's good design. Ooh! There's another D word :)
Most Societies seemed to have formed in the mid to late 70s. It's interesting reading about their history where you can, the challenges they face and how they've resolved them. Some of them are big and some tiny. Most of them list the benefits of joining. Again, have a look and see if you can get any ideas for your society. I like the sound of bus trips with the Dorset Family History Society.
Societies beginning with D
Denmark Societies
Derbyshire Family History Society
Devon Family History Society
Diss Family History Group
Doncaster and District Family History Society
Dorset Family History Society
Dyfed Family History Society
Australian
Dubbo and District Family History Society Inc.
Historical Societies
Which societies beginning with D have I forgotten? Were there any "new to me" societies for you?
I think that many people join a family history society just to get access to the Databases on offer. If you are on a tight budget, as most pensioners are (who seem to be the largest demographic for this very popular hobby), it is much cheaper to join a Society than sign up to Ancestry, and Find My Past and My Heritage and The Genealogist etc etc And if a Society has been particularly active on the local archives front, they have often produced their own databases of indexed cemeteries or other records that family historians are actively seeking. You can see all the marvellous work QFHS volunteers have done recently to make their records more accessible online here.
Many of the members at QFHS donate some, if not all, of their own personal genealogy collection over time or as part of a bequest to the Society. We are so grateful for these donations. It now means that we have been able to set up a small lending library with the duplicates we now have in our collection. Of course, the biggest donation volunteers give is their time.
Why do you think that is the case? What is it that Societies are doing wrong when Genealogy/Family History is so very popular particularly since the advent of TV shows like Who Do You Think You Are? and the proliferation of online sites like Ancestry?
If you are worried about the Direction your Society is heading in, perhaps it is time to sit down and reconsider your Strategic Plan. What are your objectives or goals? Do they align with what your members are looking for? Change is constant. Are you keeping up with what is changing in the world of family history?
Last but not least, do you have any Dragons in your Society? Sometimes as we get older we are less patient with fools. Lord knows I have been a fool over the years. There's always so much to learn isn't there? If your patience is thin, perhaps you need to take a break. When starting out on the challenging genealogy/family history journey, a welcoming smile and encouragement is what you need rather than fire and brimstone. Are your library volunteers friendly and encouraging? Perhaps let the dragons out into the garden where they can sunbake or chill by the fountain :)
Thank you for taking the time to swing by my blog. And if you are taking part in the challenge - all the best !
Comments
To let you know I seemed to have trouble posting comments on your earlier posts and got a message that your gmail was blocking my btinternet server. So I was delighted when I went back to your posts, that my comments had got through.
We do get many donations but societies also need to have a robust policy to deal with donations so that shelves are not cluttered with cast offs as folks downsize their own collections. You are providing much food for thought.
https://jonesfamilyhistory.wordpress.com/
There’s that conundrum where there are complaints about doing it all while excluding others, or not giving recognition or thanks. Caloundra does an excellent job at being inclusive ams recognising member’s contributions.
One of my pet hates on society pages is having to hunt down membership costs...it’s as if they either don’t want your money (or you) or they think you’ll run screaming at the cost.
Lots of challenges for societies as so many people fail to appreciate the work of volunteers in indexing local records and they expect so much for free.