04 June 2013

OGS Conference 2013

Passing along a couple of comments about the OGS annual conference just ended in Durham College, Oshawa. I didn't attend.
 
First the positives. An informant had good things to say about presentations by Janice Nickerson and Jane MacNamara. I also heard from a graduate of the National Institute of Genealogical Studies that the awards ceremony that employed remote video capabilities went well.
 
Now the negatives. There was too much walking involved, and the marketplace too remote from the lecture rooms; that's been a comment about the last three OGS conferences, and I seem to recall it was the case last time the conference was at that location. Also the food was not particularly good.
 
Thanks to Gwyneth Pearce for tweeting some of the conference happenings. OGS announced on the Society blog there would be tweets from @ogslib. In the event only four were made - its not unusual for people to become too occupied with other things to tweet.
 
Did you attend? Please leave a comment.
 
Next year the OGS conference is in St Catharines in early May.
 

2 comments:

turner said...

I attended. Everyone is right; there was too much walking. One spent half one's time figuring out how to get to the next place. Also, no one had informed the Tim Hortons that the weekend would have a lots of visitors, and they quite literally ran out of food on early Friday afternoon.

The session I paid extra cash to attend with Roger Kershaw was a complete waste of time. He mixed up juvenile emmigration schemes with juvenile evacuation during WWII, for no good reason I could figure out. When questioned about details of juvenile emmigration schemes, he simply could not answer. Regarding the next session he hosted, someone who attended told me it was simply a long statement of web sites. I was very excited to hear Roger speak, considering his position at TNA, and given how terrific people in similar positions can be, such as Audrey Collins and Nick Barratt. Roger Kershaw's extra cost session was a huge disappointment.

Jane MacNamara said...

Congratulations to the 2013 committee on a fine conference. The Durham College campus is sprawling, no doubt, but as I someone who has been in on the organizing end, I know how difficult it is to find a venue with the right combination of spaces and price. The accommodation and meals at the college were good, and much more economical than at a hotel. The organizers provided maps and had lots of signs, and even had a shuttle bus for those who needed it. It was great to see all my once-a-year-at-conference friends!