As you all most likely know by know, Ancestry.com announced that they have bought Archives.com for $100 million! This not all that long after they bought up Footnote.com, which is now Fold3.com.
This announcement comes pretty close on the heels of the announcement by MyHeritage.com of their purchase of WorldVitalRecords.
This consolidation of databases by the big players in the industry is no surprise given the money that is generated by all the folks like you and me who are pursuing their family histories. When money is to be made, the big and rich know what to do ….
Add to this the unprecedented rush to the 1940 U.S. Census that crashed just about every server that held that date on release day, April 2nd, and it all seems pretty clear that the popularity of genealogy and family history is not dimming or going away anytime soon.
Then you have the efforts by some of the best genealogical Societies like the Ohio Genealogical Society that are moving at warp-speed to stay relevant and cutting-edge as evidenced by their recent announcement via OGS Dateline as follows:
“NEWS RELEASE!!!
OGS PUBLICATIONS TO GO DIGITAL IN 2013
For the first time, in 2013, OGS Members will have the ability to receive Ohio Genealogical News and/or Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly digitally on the OGS Website at http://www.ogs.org. For those who still want paper, both will still be available through the mail.
MERGER OF PUBLICATIONS IN 2013
For many years OGS Members and Non-OGS people have been given the option to buy two subscription publications: Ohio Records and Pioneer Families and Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal. Beginning in 2013 there will be no need to subscribe to these two publications as they are being merged into the all new Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly with more pages covering all types of material from all eras of Ohio genealogy including Civil War and early Ohio Pioneers. There will be no increase in dues and no more subscription rates to pay!
All OGS members will have the opportunity to use the Ohio Civil War Genealogy Center online at http://www.ogs.org which includes articles, databases and all back issues of OCWGJ; and to use the all new Article Archives.
Eric Johnson, VP of Members Services has named Susan Lee as the Senior Editor of the Publications Committee. The committee is in charge of the merger. Laurel Sheppard will be joining Susan as Assistant Editor of OGS Quarterly. Daniel Reigle will continue to work on Civil War related articles and databases, but has personally decided to step down as an editor into a Civil War Contributor’s role. Sunny Morton will remain Editor of Ohio Genealogy News, Kay Hudson will be joining the Publications Committee as Editor of Special Articles. More committee members will be named in the near future.
Ohio Genealogy News will not be affected by the merger of ORPF, OCWGJ with OGS Quarterly.”
As a member of OGS, it tickles me that they are moving in such bold, positive ways to improve and care for their members!
Another fine example is the grand reopening of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa this July. Not content to simply reopen, they are featuring a world-class exhibition of Alphonse Mucha, the famed Bohemian artist, and his work to draw nationwide and worldwide attention to this fantastic institution. By the way, their oral histories of Bohemian and Czech immigrants are awesome and is a truly stellar undertaking. Plus their Library and Archives is an unsurpassed genealogy haven for anyone seeking their Czech and Slovak ancestry.
The new exterior of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library — opening July 14, 2012.
And, just to put in a plug for us Genealogy Bloggers and Websites, there is always new information and data coming out!
You can read Dick Eastman’s newsletter each day or his exclusive interview with Onward To Our Past right here.
Plus I am continuing to improve and add to the genealogy resources that are here and free for you, such as my Bohemia-Czech page, Italian page, and Cornwall page.
And of course there is our Facebook page too with our over 6,100 fans enjoying this aspect of genealogy and family history.
Oh, and don’t forget that the Cleveland Czech Community will be greatly assisted when the Hugo Chotek project is complete and unveiled here for you to use!
So there is great genealogy news all around us! Perhaps we are seeing the dawn of the Golden Age of Genealogy now?
How lucky could we be as we go Onward To Our Past?
Scott
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