The big countdown has begun with only four weeks to go until RootsTech 2016! I’m not generally known for being a last minute kind of person, unless it involves a cruise ship deal, so I am taking a look now to make sure my ducks are in a row for both RootsTech and my time in the Family History Library.
If you are visiting Salt Lake City for the first time, please take a moment to read my post from last fall about making the most of your time in the library and getting the best value for your money.
I will be arriving in Salt Lake on my preferred day – Sunday – so I get a good night’s sleep before heading into 2+ days in the library. One month out from the trip, I am starting to review my “to do” list, which I started right after last year’s visit. I have added to the list throughout the year as new clues surface about people in the family tree.
- New digitized databases are being added to the library’s online access almost daily. If there are records I need to check that are on my current work list and I find they have been digitized, I will cross that item off my list. I certainly don’t want to waste time looking at a computer database in the library that I can now view at home. I have one film on my list that is in the Granite Mountain Vault. I will be sure to request that as soon as I walk into the library on Monday morning.
2. Next, I have the RootsTech 2016 app installed on my iPad and I’ve been checking that for updates. The app contains links to all kinds of conference information, including the session schedule. I have created a list of sessions that piqued my interest on each day. However, I have lots of time slots with more than one session I would like to attend. I am keeping all the sessions in each slot because I’ve found that, occasionally, a speaker is ill or stuck in an airport somewhere and the session is cancelled. I’ve also come across times where the session write up didn’t exactly match the actual talk and I change my mind about attending. I’ve also experienced wanting to see two fabulous sessions scheduled at the same time so I’ve been known to attend half of one and half of the other. There are also sessions which fill up and I don’t really want to sit on the floor for an hour. All of these situations make it necessary to have a back up plan at hand. I don’t want to scour the schedule at the last minute looking for a replacement to attend.
3. Lastly, I begin to seriously review my genealogy research to locate any other “to do” items for my list. With a one month lead time, that is a leisurely activity.
I think I am in pretty good shape as RootsTech 2016 approaches.