The In-Depth Genealogist a digital community for all genealogists
Now in its third year, RootsTech is a family history and technology conference presented by FamilySearch. It will be held March 21-23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 2012 RootsTech conference attracted thousands of attendees, and this year’s is expected to be even bigger and better.
RootsTech offers three days of presentations, workshops, panels, and demonstrations geared to a range of skill levels and interests. A new “Getting Started” program offers help for beginners, and is specially priced at only $19 for a single day or $39 for a 3-Day Pass. The latter offers over 30 classes and workshops to help those just getting started with their family history.
At the other end of the spectrum, technology developers have their own Developer Day on March 22. Programming is designed to encourage collaboration between developers and users, featuring numerous sessions and topics of current interest.
Rounding out the conference are presentations and panel discussions geared to intermediate genealogists and everyone. Tracks include “Find and Organize,” “Preserve and Share,” and “General.” A variety of hands-on workshops give RootsTech attendees the opportunity to learn and apply practical skills right away.
A new addition to RootsTech this year is the “Story@Home” conference, offering sessions on family history storytelling, preservation, and publishing, which will run concurrently with other programming. Sessions will include topics such as preserving oral histories, how to tell stories, creating family traditions, sharing stories through social media, preserving family memorabilia, and publishing stories. A special Story@Home combo pass gives access both to the Getting Started and Story@Home sessions.
The full conference pass gives unlimited admission to both RootsTech and Story@Home classes. Registration is still open, although accommodations in Salt Lake City may be limited. To see the conference schedule and to register, see RootsTech.org.
RootsTech is expected to offer live streaming of selected presentations again this year, as last year’s live streaming sessions were very popular. The website will provide the live streaming schedule as the conference dates grow near. So even if you can’t make it to Salt Lake City, you can still participate in the energy and enthusiasm that has quickly made RootsTech one of the most highly anticipated events in the genealogical world.
