What The Heck is SLIG?

Here I am in Salt Lake City getting ready to spend my week in class. My genie friends understand this strange obsession but some of my non-genie friends are probably puzzled. So here's the scoop.

First, what is SLIG? It stands for Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Huh? Well, it's an in-depth week-long course on a specific subject. This is my second year at SLIG. Last year I took Paula Stuart Warren's class Taking your Research to the Next Level..... and I believe it truly helped me do just that. 

This year there were so many good offerings that I struggled to pick one. I chose Beyond the Library: Using Original Source Repositories taught by John Coletta (with sections by Tom Jones, Angela Packer McGhie, Pam Sayre and Paula Stuart Warren). I'm one of the few people who has NEVER heard John Coletta speak but when I tell people what course I'm taking there is this almost uniform expression of awe!! And almost everyone says "I could listen to him read the phone book." So I know I'm in for a treat. We also get to take a field trip to the Utah Archives which will be fun!!

So why did I choose this class? Besides the pleasure of listening to all the great presenters, I decided this was just what I needed at this time. I'm a pretty good, sitting at my desk in my jammies, researcher. I need the kick in the butt to get out and see what else is out there - away from the computer. So I'm looking forward to understanding more about various repositories, how they work and how I access their materials. 

Of course, the learning doesn't start just on Monday. I spent yesterday at the first SLIG Tech Day attending great classes done by Kimberly Powell, Elissa Scalise Powell, and Cyndi Ingle. I learned lots of little tips and tricks for writing, spreadsheets, timelines, and translations and can't wait to try these things out.

But one of the greatest thing about SLIG is the networking. I've met people who I've only "met" previously on Facebook and I've had the pleasure of seeing people I met last year. SLIG is also about socializing and today I'm headed to lunch with a group, meeting a couple of MN peeps for a bit, having a bite with my friend Annette who I met last year (in the shuttle to the hotel in a snowstorm), people at the welcome reception tonight and then fellow ProGeners for a meet and greet.  Anybody that knows me knows that's more socializing than I do all year!!

All in all, it will be a packed week, filled with learning, fun and more learning.