I frequently write about the major genealogy conferences held
in the United States and elsewhere. These conferences often bring together the
leading genealogy lecturers of our time and can provide a wealth of information
for those who attend. However, the majority of genealogists are unable to attend
these conferences, due to distances, financial considerations, and scheduling.
(Who decided to have these conferences on weekdays, anyway?)
You can attend many of the presentations "in absentia,"
however. While not quite as good as being there in person, a tape recording
of a lecturer’s speech is often a great substitute. Luckily, tape recordings
of the major genealogy conventions in the United States are available, even
for those conferences held several years ago. The recordings are available for
the U.S. National Genealogical Society’s conferences for the past twenty
years, GENTECH for the past eight years, the Federation of Genealogical Society’s
conferences since 1985, as well as a number of other conferences, including
various conferences of the Michigan Genealogical Conference, the Allen County
Public Library, International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies,
the Afro-American Historical Society, the Utah Genealogical Association, the
New England Regional Genealogical Conference, and more.
Audiotapes.com is the Web page operated by Repeat Performance,
a company seen at almost every genealogy conference in the U.S. for many years.
Repeat Performance records lectures and makes the audiotapes available both
to conference attendees and to the general public. The cassette tapes of these
lectures sell for $8.50 each plus shipping. Most lectures fit onto one cassette
tape although you may see a few longer lectures that require a second tape.
If you would like to obtain an audiotape of that lecture you wish
you had attended, take a look at www.audiotapes.com.
My thanks to Candy Rypczyk for suggesting this article.
Dick Eastman Online
