RootsTech is nearly upon us again. But are you ready for it? A little preparation beforehand can pay
itself back many times over.
Firstly, make sure you download the RootsTech App. It's free
and available from iTunes or the Google App Store. It will give you maps (still waiting on
those), let you check out the exhibitors, speakers and the conference schedule,
download the syllabus (the only way to do so this year) and make contact with
other attendees. You can also use it to access the social media posts that are
being made about RootsTech.
Randy Seaver has written a great blog post on how to access
the syllabus material. You can find his post here.
If you download the syllabus material for a talk you are
attending you can make notes attached to that syllabus on your mobile
device. And you can flag talks that you
want to attend and use the App to look at your schedule. I advise you to flag
more than one talk at a given time (if you are interested in more than one) as
sometimes a room will fill up, leaving you open to attend a different talk.
Speaking of the sessions you want to attend, I strongly
recommend that you look at the list and make some decisions beforehand. With so
many streams running in parallel it would be easy to miss something you are
really interested in if you look at the schedule in a hurry just before the
session is about to start.
If you will be using multiple devices (eg a phone and a
tablet) don't forget to setup the multi-device sync from the settings.
But don't think that you have to spend all your time
listening to the talks. The Expo Hall is a very worthwhile part of RootsTech.
Not only are there many interesting vendors to look at, but many of them will
have mini-talks at their boots. I know that Lisa Louise Cooke (from the
Genealogy Gems Podcast) will be having talks, but in the past Ancestry,
findmypast, MyHeritage and FamilySearch have also had them.
Don't forget the social events. Have you booked in for those
you want to attend? There are two aspects to these – the entertainment value
and the opportunity to meet new like-minded people who don't roll their eyes
when you start talking about your family history.
If you are arriving before the conference or staying on
after the conference why not use the opportunity to do some research at the
Family History Library? That's another
area where preparation pays dividends.
Go through your family tree and see if there are any gaps you want to
fill in or brick walls you want to breakdown. Or perhaps you have found
relevant entries in an index (perhaps on FamilySearch, another web site, or a
published transcript) and are intending to do the right thing and check the
original source. Make a list of all the
things you want to check. I do mine in Evernote, but do whatever works for you.
Add the FHL film number or book call number to each item. You can find these
through the catalogue available on FamilySearch. While you are looking at the
catalogue, see if they have anything unexpected for places you are interested
in. As an example, they often have transcripts of headstones, which even if you
are able to visit the cemetery might have weathered away since they were
transcribed. And don't forget that some of the collections on FamilySearch
cannot be accessed from home, only from a Family History Center. There are many Kent collections that fit into
this category to give just one example.
Now there are lots of things you'll need to make sure you
bring:
- Warm clothes – it WILL be cold and might very well snow. Don't forget gloves and a beanie
- Comfy shoes – you'll be doing LOTS of walking and will be on your feet lots
- Mobile phone – use it to access the RootsTech app, social media and stay in contact with friends. There is free wi-fi in the Salt Palace Convention Center and the Family History Library so overseas people don't need to worry about data access.
- Tablet – similar uses to above, but also useful for taking notes in lectures and the library. You might also want to bring a bluetooth keyboard
- Laptop – I have a lightweight laptop for travel and take it as well as my tablet partly because the keyboard is easier to type on and mostly in case the battery for one of these devices runs out. Which brings me to
- Portable chargers – there are many of these on the market. They will generally all charge a phone, but not all will charge a tablet or iPad. Getting one with enough power will take care of that, but also charge a phone more quickly
- Business cards – to keep in touch with people you meet
- Pen and notebook – if technology fails, have an old fashioned backup.
- Power board – you'll have lots of tech gear you need to recharge in your room
There are a few other posts with advice on what to bring. 8 Tech Tools to bring to RootsTech and Family History Fanatics 5 Things to Bring to RootsTech.
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