Thanks to author Mike Sharpe for this week's effort. Please take a few moments to check out our man's book, the excellent
Family Matters: A History of Genealogy - details at the foot of this post.
Anyone for the Big [Family History] Society?
As a reader of this blog no doubt you have an
interest in family history. But are you a member of a local family history
society? Most likely the answer is ‘no’, nor would you consider joining one.
This is a shame because family history societies (FHSs) have much to offer.
My own society, the Birmingham & Midland
Society for Genealogy and Heraldry (BMSGH), celebrates its 50th anniversary
next year and I’m currently sorting through their archives for a short
publication to mark the event. In doing so I have been reminded all too well
about the strengths of FHSs, but also of how these once great institutions have
been marginalised over recent years.
In their heyday, in the 1980s and 90s, FHSs were
at the centre of the family history world. They offered members three key
benefits. Firstly, education: societies were the first to organise courses for
family historians, which enabled amateur researchers to build their skills.
Secondly, they held specialist resources which could not be found anywhere
else, such as indexes of BMDs, ‘strays’ (i.e. out of area finds), and
monumental inscriptions. These were offered to members as a service and also
sold to non-members to generate income. Thirdly, and uniquely, FHSs offered a
community for researchers to learn from each other and share their common
interests and advice.
Individually and collectively through their
Federation, the FFHS,
societies have had some major achievements. Many thousands of people have attended
FFHS
conferences (some of which ran over 3-5 days); the Federation successfully lobbied
government departments, providing a much-needed voice for family historians at
national level; and it coordinated nationwide projects such as the Big R and the
National Burial Index.
But in recent years local societies have been
overshadowed by the commercial companies who can do things much faster and on a
much larger scale. Relying heavily on volunteers and with limited resources,
FHSs have struggled to compete. Membership has fallen – quite dramatically in
some cases – and the other staple income sources, book sales and data CDs, have
also dropped. It is ironic that at a time when family history has never been so
popular, family history societies are in decline.
The reason, it seems to me, is that local
societies have failed to adapt. Their basic model – membership subscriptions
supplemented by product sales – has remained largely unchanged whereas, as we
all know, the world has moved on over the last 30 years.
To use internet speak, the FHSs are being
‘disintermediated’. Just like music companies and book publishers, people are
shunning the middle-man and going straight to those offering the digital content
instead, which in this case means the commercial providers. Why drive half way
across town to a meeting when you can find all you want online?
Such attitudes miss a vital point, however. FHSs,
like all community organisations, are not about what you can get out but about putting
something back. If they are to survive and prosper, these societies desperately need
a new model, one based on their community values.
FHSs have to become the focal points for all
genealogical and local history interests in their areas. They need to build partnerships
with commercial companies and get a fairer return on their valuable data. They should
look to partner with local archives and record offices, which are themselves
increasingly under threat from online providers and public sector cuts. They
need much better web platforms so as to enable them to sell online and connect effectively
with their members, including social media such as Facebook and Twitter. And
they have to get better business skills on board so as to compete in the new
dog-eat-dog world.
Some of these issues are being taken up by the
Open Genealogy Alliance, but so far the initiative has failed to gain traction.
Yet, an independent stream that can act as a counterbalance to the commercial
companies is essential if we are to keep family history as a movement rather
than let it morph into just another consumer market. Your local family history society
needs you: isn’t it time you sought them out?
Mike Sharpe
Contacts for local family history societies can
be found on the FFHS website.
If you'd like to write an article for this blog, then please see my post concerning the matter, here. It's easy!
