This month, Elizabeth O’Neal is offering up the 6th annual picnic pot luck with bloggers’ choice for the genealogically related theme.

It’s that time of year when BACK TO SCHOOL comes to mind and many educational institutions have already begun the 2021-2022 school year.

Genealogically speaking, we are fortunate to have many opportunities to enrich our knowledge and hone our skills throughout the year.

At the apex of choices are the various institutes that specialize in intermediate and advanced topics.

Perhaps the best known of these is the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, aka SLIG, sponsored by the Utah Genealogical Association, which takes place in January each year.

SLIG 2021, like most other genealogy get-togethers, took place virtually.

However, SLIG 2022 is scheduled to be an in-person event January 9-14, 2002 in Salt Lake City.

I would love to participate in a SLIG class, even if just once. With the costs of the institute registration, hotel, travel and meals, it is a bit on the expensive side, so last year, when registration opened for the virtual program, I decided to try to register.

I was ready to go the first minute that registration opened, but I wasn’t quick enough and got shut out. It was an extremely disappointing and frustrating experience. I also have to admit that it has almost completely turned me off the idea of even trying again.

No, this isn’t a rant – it’s just the reality because hundreds (who knows, maybe thousands) of eager genealogists were all trying to score a seat (with very limited numbers of slots available) in their preferred class.

Success was probably made more difficult by the fact that SLIG would be virtual – the cost was then no more than the registration fee, enabling many who otherwise would have been unable to attend to try to register.

What’s on the Agenda for SLIG 2022?

Another impressive selection of classes with something for everyone:

Operation Jumpstart: Beyond the Basics of Military Research with Michael L. Strauss, AG

Advanced Land Tools: Maps by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA

Gothic Script and Fraktur: Reading Records of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic, Plus German-American Church Books and Newspapers by F. Warren Bittner, CG

Back to the Old Country: Genealogy of Ashkenazic Jews of Galicia (Austrian Empire) and the Russian Empire by Emily H. Garber, MA

Advanced New England Research: From the Colonial Period to the Early 1900s by D. Joshua Taylor, MA,  MLS

DNA Dreamers in Action: Writing Proof Arguments by Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG

Applied Genealogical Methods Workshop: Hands-on Skillbuilding by Michael G. Hait, CG

Critical Thinking Methods for Your Genealogy Breakthroughs by Jan Joyce, DBA, CG, CGL, AG

Advanced Genealogical Methods by Paul K. Graham, AG, CG, CGL

Becoming an Accredited Genealogist Professional: The Why, The What, The How by Diana Elder, AG and Lisa Stokes, AG

Guided Research and Consultation by Craig Roberts Scott, MA, CG, FUGA

For a complete course description and names of additional instructors, visit the SLIG website.

Details about how the week runs can be found online.

If you are considering trying for registration, it is strongly recommended that you read the SLIG FAQ page for important info, such as the need to set up a registration account BEFORE registration opens.

Registration for SLIG 2022 opens soon – 14 August 2021 at 10:00 MDT and you’ll want to be ready to go the very first minute the website opens.

As for me – will I be online and ready to go that morning? Honestly, I haven’t yet decided. It was such a disappointment last year to be shut out in 60 seconds.

With the requirement to attend in person in 2022, the competition for seats shouldn’t be nearly as difficult. . .and because of the pandemic, I have missed my yearly visits to the Family History Library. We’ll see!