Each Learning From Members Class (formerly known as Intermediate Genealogy Class) will take an in-depth look at a record group focusing on the origins of the records, the information provided by the records, their importance to genealogy research, and ways to access the records both online and off.
- 2nd Tuesday of the month (except December)
- In-person: City of Carlsbad Faraday Administration Building in Room 173B
- Doors open at 9:30 a.m.
- Virtual via Zoom: Registration link below
- Presentation: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- All meetings will be hybrid (in-person and virtual)
- Presentation recordings are available to current NSDCGS members
Upcoming Speakers & Events
November 11th, 2025 – Zoom only
Citing Sources in the Ever-Changing Digital Environment presented by Mary Van Orsdol
Mary Van Orsdol will present remotely
Presentation will be recorded; available indefinitely
Virtual attendees – Register HERE
Many genealogists consider creating source citations to be, at best, a tedious chore, and at worse, an incomprehensible burden. Mary developed a fascination with the rules and standards for source citation as a graduate student and continues to study the various style guides as they update to reflect the expanding digital world. In this presentation, she will explore the characteristics of the sources we use, the reasons behind the need to cite our sources, and the building blocks for creating citations. She will argue that when we generate source citations we develop a deeper understanding of the sources themselves which can lead to additional resources to explore.
Mary Van Orsdol has been researching her family since 1991 when she attended a Van Orsdol family reunion with her parents in Bristow, Oklahoma, and met several Van Orsdol researchers. She has a special interest and expertise in New Netherland research and in “going paperless” with her genealogy research. She has spent the past several years researching the 16th and 17th century Van Arsdale family in the Netherlands with the help of a professional researcher from Tilburg, the Netherlands.
Mary graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in history; from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, with an MA in American History with an emphasis in Constitutional History; and from UCLA with a Master of Library Science with an emphasis in academic libraries. After working six years as the Humanities Librarian at UC Irvine, Mary began working part-time in the Genealogy Division of the Carlsbad City Library. After the retirement of Ray Brookhart, the founding librarian of the Genealogy Division, she succeeded him as head of the Division. She retired in 2014 and is now concentrating on her genealogy research, her knitting, her garden, and her husband (not necessarily in that order).
January 13th, 2026 – HYBRID
TBD presented by Bill Graham
Past Topics
2025
- January: Genealogy is History. Linking your Family with History presented by Bill Graham
- February: Fun with Maps presented by Jennifer Anklesaria
- March: Researching English Locations: Did My Family Really Move That Much?
presented by Cynde Durnford-Branecki - April: Four Ways to Access Digital Images on Family Search presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- May: What we learned at the Family Search Library in Salt Lake City presented by Mary Millet, Karen Nelson, Justine Wenman and others
- June: What’s New at the Library presented by Carlsbad Library Staff
- July: California Pioneer Certificate Program presented by Colin Whitney
- August: Infectious diseases influenced who became our ancestors presented by Stephen M. Baird, M.D.
- September: Reading German Script presented by Vicki May
- October: Unknown Parentage: Roadblocks & Successes presented by Britta Brewer
2024
- January: Age of Immigration, Part II presented by Tom Cousineau
- February: Think outside the Box presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- March: Family Tree Maker presented by Cynde Durnford-Branecki
- April: Going Paperless presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- May: Exploring Human Traits and DNA presented by Ron Velarde
- June: Showcase Your Heirlooms presented by Jennifer Anklesaria
- July: Exploring the SLC Family Search Center presented by 2024 SLC Trip Attendees
- August: Exploring the Newly Released Features for the Family Search Website presented by Colin Whitney
- September: Get to Know the Genealogy & Carlsbad History Division at the Georgina Cole Library presented by Library Staff Members
- October: Stumble-Bumbling through AI for Genealogists presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- November: Early California History and the California Pioneer Certificate Program presented by Colin Whitney