PROJECT ‘TRANSFORMATION’
The Society of Genealogists shares news of the next steps in its 110 year history
In July 2021 the Society of Genealogists closed the doors of 14 Charterhouse Buildings, home of the SOG for the past 37 years of its 110 year history, and stepped forward into a new future. Keen to find out a little more about their plans, Helen Tovey caught up with some members of the SOG management team
While it might be a new future, it’s not an unknown one and the Society has a clear and transformative range of plans in place relating to its archives, its online data, its learning experiences, its members, and of course its new premises. So, how did the wheels for this transformation get set in motion?
‘3 years in 3 weeks’
‘If anything did come well out of Covid, we did what lots of organisations did – you know – three years’ worth of tech development in three weeks,‘ explained Else Churchill, The Genealogist at SOG. Developments such as this enabled the SOG to take its learning programme to the web, where audiences (of both SOG members and non-members) have enjoyed tuning in to a wide range of expert genealogists and speakers over the past year or more.
Harnessing the power of web was instrumental, too, in making it possible for the SOG army of volunteers to continue to work on key collections, such as that of the 10,000 or so Pedigree Rolls currently being scanned and transcribed, even if unable to come into the SOG premises
due to lockdowns etc.
‘Massive digitization plan’
Transformation and Volunteer Manager, Christine Worthington, outlined why this was so important: ‘We surveyed our members… and they told us they would like us to digitize a lot more… It sort of opened up discussions about what can be digitised, what can be put online for our members… so we’ve got a massive digitization plan underway’ – covering parish registers, monumental inscriptions, and card indexes, as well as the pedigree rolls mentioned above.
New home, new approach
Over the century that SOG has been in existence it has accrued a wealth of unique genealogy records and books, many of which were formerly housed at the now-closed SOG library, and which are currently held by Restore’s Heritage Storage arm, a remote heritage archiving facility in Oxfordshire that partners with the National Conservation Service. Here archiving standards are extremely high, other customers being the British Library. Christine Worthington: ‘Collections, before they go in there, are inspected to ensure they are mould free and pest free…
We can also partner with the National Conservation Service in the future, to have parts of our collection assessed.’
It was important for the SOG to find a suitable professional archive storage home for its collections as it will be the home for many of the Sog’s records on a permanent basis, which will be housed remotely – to be pre-ordered to the new SOG London premises by researchers on request.
The need to balance the books while retaining a London premises for the SOG, combined with the opportunities provided by increasing digital access to the Sog’s collections for members, has made the decision to provide a pre-ordering service possible. What this means is that: many
members will be able to enjoy the benefits of SOG archives from home online; members wishing to visit the new as-yet-undisclosed premises will be able to pre-order records to study; and the SOG will be able to afford a central London hub (as requested by the members surveyed) for research, events and the member community.
The need to change
Overseeing this many-faceted transformation of the SOG is Interim CEO Laura Doyle, we asked her a little about the goals and new direction for the Society: ‘Wow! We’ve got so much going on. We are in the privileged position right now to address and make better and improve the services for our members. It couldn’t be done without my team and the spectacular members and volunteers that we have at the society… We’re 110 years old… and the demands and the needs of currentday genealogists and those who are finding family history now have changed over those 110 years, and we as an organization need to change with that…. It’s a really exciting position to be in… albeit somewhat terrifying as there’s so much going on.’
What is noticeable about the new direction of the SOG is that family historians of all levels will be very much welcome, and we asked Laura for some thoughts on this too: ‘I think is some ways we’re just trying to update that view of people. We’ve always been great at helping people, through from the start. Else can tell you years’ worth of assistance that we’ve provided… but that’s not necessarily what we’re always known for.’ Else added, ‘There’s a big refreshment about. It will be inclusive, broader, not only a new building, but all sorts of things that Rebecca can tell you about… It’s going to be a very interesting time in the next few weeks, and months!’
New online member facilities
New to the SOG team in early 2021 Rebecca Gregory, Head of Membership, has been taking a look at what members really want, which has resulted in a new-look website (launched July 2021) and membership system. ‘This has very much been designed with our members at the forefront. The website’s been designed so it’s very easy to use and search our digital records,’ explained Rebecca. ‘We’re also launching a new membership system. We chose this system mainly because of the way we can develop its discussion boards and forums, because our members made it very clear they want to connect with each other around their shared interests. [It] also gives the ability … for people who are members overseas or who can’t get to London to interact and be a part of our online community.’
The big question!
At the time of going to print, the big question as to where the SOG will next be homed was, sadly but understandably, not available … yet. Neil Alcock, Head of Transformation, was able to give some insights to the Transformation: ‘Given the budget we had, you set up roughly an 18 month/2 year plan to actually transform the whole of the organization. And when I say the organization, I mean literally everything.’ The systems, the building, everything needed to be ‘re-energised’ said Neil. ‘We put the new events system out there, and I think it has seen a terrific upsurge in attendees, and I think probably had a knockon effect of more people coming to the AGM as well, as they got more familiar to the Society online.’
But what about the actual premises? ‘Clearly the new premises are going to be a change,’ continued Neil. ‘They’re going to be a different feel when you get into the building. A much more inclusive and welcoming feel. A bit tidier hopefully!... The new one will make better use of more modern technology. It’ll have working areas, research areas.’ Signing on the dotted line is just step one in the story of the new premises though, and it will take several months for the fit-out to accomplish the ideas that Neil’s outlined above. So as to premises, we will all have to be patient.
However, in the meantime members can enjoy the new website, and all are welcome at the online events, both of which will continue to be available through the Transformation period. And one of the best things about the Sog’s Transformation is that we all, as family historians, stand to benefit – SOG members and non-members, in the UK and overseas. The ideas being generated by the staff, volunteers and members at SOG are sure to cause positive ripples of progress in the genealogy community far afield.