Blog no. 2~ Genealogy as an Information Community

I participated in the 2016 Sacramento Archives Crawl last October. That day, by following the Crawl plan, I visited the Center for Sacramento History, the California Museum, the California State Archives, and The Sacramento Room Archives (affiliated with the Sacramento Public Library where I was then newly employed as graduate intern.) Being a newcomer to Sacramento, as well as to the library community, it was the first time I had participated in such an event.

I quickly noticed that many of these archives had the same brochures, prominently displayed, for a local genealogical (Genealogy: the study and research of one’s family history) organization called The Root Cellar: Sacramento Genealogical Society.  I also noticed that this organization had their own booth in the main area of the Archives Crawl set up within the California State Archives, featuring more brochures. So, I took one for myself. It states:

Mission:

The Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society was formed in 1978 when our members found a common interest in the gathering and sharing of genealogical information. Since that time, our goal has been to help our members and the public with genealogical research through education, the publication of information, and the preservation of records. Everyone sharing an interest in genealogy is welcome.

I didn’t precisely know how put it into words at the time but I understand now that what I had witnessed at the Archive Crawl was an Information Community in action.

Another scenario involving genealogy as an Information Community occurred through making the acquaintance of a co-worker last semester. In addition to the Sacramento Room, I was also employed at another archive, the CSUS Special Collections, with a student named Michelle. She is devoted to genealogy research. I told her that I noticed the Sacramento Public Library offered Ancestry Heritage Quest for free to anyone with a Sacramento Public Library card. Michelle didn’t have a car so, one day after work, I drove her to the Sacramento Public Library so she could acquire a library card to access this database herself. She was so excited to access it for the first time, and was hopeful that it would provide her with a missing piece of research regarding her great grandfather that she had been looking for, for ages.

She then thanked me, an utter genealogy beginner, by showing me how to do a basic genealogical search on FamilySearch.org. In a few moments we discovered the exact date that my great grandmother, Philomena, had first arrived in the US from her native Malta. And it opened up a new world to me.

I feel like these interactions between Michelle and I, a humble exchange of genealogical resources and learning between two fellow library employees, serves as another example of this Information Community in action.

I will research my Information Community with the Root Cellar Genealogical Society and the California State Archives. (According to the Root cellar brochure, ‘the main library connected with the Root Cellar is the California State Archives, whose fourth floor contains over 6,000 books and periodicals from genealogical societies throughout the US.’) I also plan to attend the 2017 Archives Crawl this October to visit the Root Cellar booth, speak to the organizers, and to once again witness this Information Community in action.

I believe that the genealogical community meets the five tenants of an Information Community, as outlined by Durrance and Fisher:

1.  For users, the Internet provides the opportunity to engage information in a way that (1) is anonymous for users, if they choose, (2) is conducive to their schedules, and (3) may expand their knowledge of the subject via direct links to other external information resources. An information community yields multiplier effects for its stakeholders especially when it reaches a critical mass of organizations that understands its functions and contributes to its success.

The Heritage Quest database, made available free of charge to anyone who has a Sacramento Public Library card, is an excellent example of this. Also, the catalog for the 6,000 count library collection of the Root Cellar is available online.

2. Second, information communities emphasize collaboration among diverse groups that provide information and may share joint responsibility and resources (including in-kind contributions). Content-rich institutions such as libraries, not surprisingly, have been system centered, requiring enormous energy to develop and make accessible extensive collections. However, the capabilities of information communities discussed earlier help overcome the focus on system.

I feel like the Archives Crawl, the range of archival collections by way of its participants or ‘network,’ and the way this network supports The Root Cellar, illustrates number two perfectly.

3. Information communities provide value and added dimensions that facilitate the access and use of relevant content.

I feel they do by the amount of free resources available for basic genealogical research, down to more intricate/specific genealogical resources such as membership with the Root Cellar, or a class in creating one’s own family tree, for those who can afford it. And again, the network these different archives have formed, provides an even wider array of materials for those who need them. Being free and available, the resources are what the user makes of them.

4. Information communities can lessen the effects of such barriers as geography and finances, along with the reluctance to ask for sensitive information. Likewise, because people can enter an information community at any point, often from a trusted Web site, and use all resources regardless of their origin, information communities help people overcome trust barriers.

There are a lot of available options and a great deal of flexibility and range in the kind of genealogy research one chooses to do, and what falls within one’s comfort level of public, vs. private, free vs. something purchased.

5. Information communities foster social connectedness within the larger community. Members of information communities distinguish between finding information about community and finding information that would help them make connections with other people and organizations. This “connecting characteristic” of information communities creates links that can increase the knowledge that members of such communities can offer someone else.

The genealogical community has access to plenty of online resources, but also has several physical ‘bases’ that support them; this made an impression on me at the Crawl. The Root Cellar membership and meetings, the various local archives which support them, as well as regularly occurring in-person workshops, newsletters, and classes provides regular, structured, in-person social settings. The Root Cellar of Sacramento was established in 1978. I had the impression at the Crawl, and from reviewing their material, that the Sacramento genealogy community has ‘deep roots’ of its own with regard to a solid community base.

Sources:

Fisher, K., & Durrance, J. (2003). Information communities. K. Christensen, & D. Levinson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of community: From the village to the virtual world. (pp 658-661). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: http://dx.doi.org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.4135/9781412952583.n248