We all have routines and habits, from whether we drink a cup of coffee every morning to which books we search first in our family history quest. Pat Stamm challenged us to make small changes in our habits in order to become better genealogists.

We sometimes end up in ruts as researchers. Do you target the internet, original/microfilmed records, OR printed resources? How about doing the internet, records AND resources? Are you using keyword searches in catalogs to see resources you haven’t used before?

Just like people, records have links, too. A first communion register links back to information on birth and baptism. Pat’s handout included a list of life events. For each event, she listed multiple sources for the data we value.

Pat issued a challenge to make small changes in our routines in order to become better genealogists. She provided many suggestions about how to do just that.

This session has been taped. During the conference you can buy it from the JAMB-INC booth in the main conference hall. After the conference, it will be available online at http://www.jamb-inc.com/category/genealogy. This is session F311 under the heading 2013 NGS Conference/Las Vegas, NV.