16 April 2013

Occupy Genealogy!

Occupy Genealogy is a Facebook page and website where people can gather to discuss legislative issues facing genealogists.

Any interested person can help. I've been interested in legislation affecting genealogy research for a few years. Since at least 2009, I have taken that interest to social media as the first admin of the People for Better Pennsylvania Historical Records Access' PaHR-Access Facebook page. While I did not lead the organization in any formal way, I asked the founder if I could step in to help--using the name--and he gladly consented. Making a difference in our communities is all about the grassroots efforts of individuals. Occupy Genealogy seeks to provide a grassroots forum where we can all learn about the issues facing genealogists, and learn some ways to get involved.

In the end, it will be up to you to be creative. You can call, email, write letters, visit and find other ways to make your opinion known to relevant legislators. Your efforts don't need to stop there though. Other ideas have included local ralies or discussions, coordinating between organizations in support of records access, contacting the archives or departments in charge of the records policies directly, talking to the local genealogy societies about what is being done, etc. etc.

Recently I joined as an admin of the Occupy Genealogy Facebook page to do what I can in helping get the word out there about various issues facing our records access. Please join the discussion and consider how you might help.

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