CHICAGO — Register now for “Behind the Genealogy Reference Desk: Genealogy is Bigger in Texas” and guarantee your seat at this exciting institute hosted by the Reference and User Services Association’s History Section.

This full-day event will cover basic skills for effective genealogy reference services and will feature expert speakers on local and specialized resources that help answer the more challenging research questions. Librarians from public, academic and all other types of libraries interested in learning how to use genealogy-related resources more effectively will benefit from this session. Speakers include Lloyd Brockstruck, who will address collection development during hard economic times; Sue Kaufman, who will focus on the Clayton collection of early Spanish documentation; and a third presenter, who will discuss Native American records. Lunch is sponsored by ProQuest and is included in the registration fee.

“The History Section is home to ALA’s genealogy experts, and the workshops and programs they produce are top-notch,” said RUSA President Gary White. “Genealogy reference is a valuable part of any library’s user services, and this event provides an excellent opportunity to enhance those services, as well as the skills of the library’s reference staff.”

The workshop will be held 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Register now via the ALA Midwinter Meeting website (event code RUS1). You can register for Midwinter plus this institute, add this institute to your Midwinter registration or sign up for just the institute by selecting “Institutes and Ticketed Events Only” as your meeting registration type.

Early bird registration prices for this event start at $100 for RUSA members, and lunch is included in the registration fee. This early bird rate will be available until Dec. 2, and prices will increase after that date. Online registration in advance of the event is strongly encouraged, as no seats will be available at the door on the day of the event. More information about the Midwinter Meeting is available at www.ala.org/midwinter.

The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers advisory and resource sharing. Its History Section exists to represent the subject interests of reference librarians, archivists, bibliographers, genealogists, historians and others engaged in historical reference or research. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need.  Not a member, but interested in discounted registration rates on conference, preconferences and other events? Join, renew or add RUSA to your ALA membership at www.ala.org/membership. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.

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