BYU Family History Library keeps making instructional videos during pandemic

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7hqNOQt-2AfeVEpDuc7sCA

In March of 2020, the Brigham Young University Family History Library closed down due to the worldwide pandemic of the COVID-19 virus. My wife and I were part of the about 140 Church Service missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were furloughed from physically serving in the Library. For the past 6 years or so, both my wife and I and many other missionaries have been contributing our time to producing webinars and instructional videos which are then posted to the BYU Family History Library YouTube.com Channel and to the BYU Family History Library's website. 

When the pandemic hit, it took the Library staff and missionaries some time to adapt to the new circumstances that involved no actual physical presence in the university's Harold B. Lee Library where the Family History Library is located. As time passed, Students and Faculty of the university were allowed back into the Library and we began the process of organizing online support for non-student patrons of the Family History Library. However, the production of webinars and instructional videos never skipped a beat. Since March, the Family History Library has posted, and as of the date of this post, 57 videos to the BYU Family History Library YouTube.com Channel. 

The only real change for those of us producing the videos except for those videos produced by the Library staff is that we are not physically inside of the Library. This has all been made possible by the combined efforts of the missionaries and the Library staff headed and directed by Joseph B. Everett MLS, AG, the Family History, Local History, and Microforms Librarian. You can also view the webinars produced by Joe Everett on the BYU Family History Library YouTube.com Channel. The missionary effort is coordinated by two pairs of full-time missionaries who have served faithfully through the difficulties imposed by the pandemic and kept all of us organized and in touch with the Library. 

Of course, I am thankful that I have been able to continue doing periodic webinars and other presentations for not only the BYU Family History Library but for other organizations such as MyHeritage.com and The Family History Guide. #GiveThanks I don't keep track of the number of videos I have done so far during the pandemic but between making videos for webinars, live class presentations, and the Show Me videos for The Family History Guide, I know there have been quite a few. 

The BYU Family History Library's first video posted to the YouTube Channel was uploaded on February 3, 2014. My first video was posted in September 2014 when we moved to Provo, Utah from Mesa, Arizona. Since that time, the list of subjects covered by the videos is more than impressive. If you are wondering if there is some organization to the videos, you need to go to the BYU Family History Library Website and look at the Webinar Recording Index. Here is a screenshot.

https://fh.lib.byu.edu/classes-and-webinars/online-webinars/webinar-recording-index/

According to that list, I have posted 162 webinar videos since 2014 and 48 shorter instructional videos. You also need to look at the Instructional Video list. 

https://fh.lib.byu.edu/classes-and-webinars/youtube-videos/

My wife, Ann, has posted 24 instructional videos and one webinar. Many other people at the Library have also contributed a huge number of videos. For example, Kathryn Grant, a remarkable and hugely popular teacher, has posted 73 webinars and 10 instructional videos. Over the years, others have contributed fantastic educational videos. Numbers are not as important as quality and Kathryn Grant and others have produced some of the best educational videos you can find online today, not just for genealogy but as a model for educational videos of all kinds. 

Kathryn Grant has her own archive on the BYU Family History Website. Here is a screenshot.

https://fh.lib.byu.edu/tag/kathryn-grant/

Kathryn Grant is also a prolific writer. You can see a partial list of her publications on the NauvooTimes.com website page, "Light for My Path." Here is a screenshot.

http://www.nauvootimes.com/cgi-bin/nauvoo_column.pl?type=list_columns&author=kathryn-grant&author_name=Kathryn%20Grant#.X7_AD2RKiN4

Some of the most popular videos about Family History Basics have been produced by Judy Sharp. You can see her Family History Basic Tutorials on the YouTube Channel. 

Will we run out of topics? Not likely. Right now, the BYU Family History Library has Sunday Live Classes, Thursday classes, and webinars planned through March of 2021. 

By the way, there are a lot of other genealogy resources on the BYU Family History Library website. #GiveThanks