Finding and Using Digital Collections for Genealogy

Join us in welcoming Gena Philibert-Ortega

This presentation will dive into how the internet has made accessing a variety of online records easier than ever. In order to understand what is available online, researchers need to be aware of the variety of digital collection websites outside of the familiar genealogy websites and what they offer.

In this presentation, we will take a look at digital collections ranging from those offered by government, academic, and private entities. Examples of collections and databases will be explored as well as how to search and access materials.

Presenter:

Gena Philibert-Ortega is an author, researcher, and instructor specializing in using social history and material culture to tell the story of historical women's lives. She holds two Master's degrees: one in Interdisciplinary Studies (Psychology and Women's Studies) and the other in Religion.

As an author, Gena has published two books, Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra (Arcadia Publishing) and From the Family Kitchen (F+W Media), and hundreds of articles in print magazines and online publications. Her writings can also be found on her two blogs, Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera, as well as the Genealogy Bank and Legacy Family Tree Webinar blogs. A highly sought-after instructor, Gena has taught material culture and social history at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and is a frequent presenter at seminars and conferences throughout the United States and Canada.

Her professional associations include the American Quilt Study Group, the Association of Gravestone Studies, and the National Genealogical Society. Gena has conducted research for PBS, HGTV, and the Travel Channel and has collaborated on research for the Gemological Institute of America. Gena's current research projects focus on American cemeteries, cookbooks, signature quilts, and 20th-century women's lives.