Professional Genealogy Tip: Use long-form legal birth certificate record for maximum genealogical, historical and family history information, not merely "certification" or short-form abstract copy of live birth legal record. Compare Obama's short-form certification of live birth with 50 states long-form certificate of live birth. What a big difference in what information is provided on a "real" birth certificate!

Recently I did professional genealogy research on Hawaiian ancestry using several long-form legal birth records called “certificate of live birth” for the years 1949 (a legal copy produced in 1950) and 1971 (a legal copy produced in 1985), as well as the short-form record called “certification of live birth” for 1961 (a legal copy produced in 2008). Anyone familiar with the value of birth records in genealogical research, knows there is considerable difference in available information between what is included on the legal live birth long-form (the commonly called “real” birth certificate) and legal short-form (which is an abstract of the long form). Information accuracy, access, and availability are the life blood of professional genealogy research, and less is not better! In the course of this research I was told that only the short-form birth records are available for purchase and use by today’s researchers. I heard this change took place in 2001 when Hawaii went paperless. Is this really true? What is the Hawaiian legal code authorizing this? Has Hawaiian genealogical research using copies of original long-form birth records been stopped and now limited to the minimal information that is found on the short-form? If so, it is a professional genealogist nightmare and for those who are not professionals, even more of a loss because most do not have the education, training and experience to find alternative sources of information!

I wonder: What happened to the long-form certificates that were collected, stored and microfilmed in the past? I just can’t imagine that the genealogists, family historians, and professional researchers working with Hawaiian ancestry have allowed this to happen. Are there people in Hawaii who are working to reverse this limited records access?

I wonder: What is public access today for Hawaiian birth records? What kind of birth record is available in 2009 in Hawaii for genealogical research? Are there different categories in Hawaii of certification or certificates available for legal birth records such as employment and citizen verification, identity verification, passport use, prima facie evidence in a court of law, school admission, driver’s license application, social security application, and genealogical for the genealogical researcher of Hawaiian birth records? What Hawaiian legal codes cover all of these different categories and uses of Hawaiian legal birth records?

I wonder: Is this the wave of the future for the other 49 states – inhibiting research and discovery by not legally allowing citizens to access public records? I know Utah still offers long-form and short-form birth records access, even though their records have been digitized since 1999. The long-form costs $21 while the short-form costs $18. Makes you wonder what the rest of the states are going to do? Do you know anything about this issue? Please contact me via my website www.heirlines.com so we can work together for the future accessibility of such important genealogical records as long-form birth records.

Submitted by Mary E. Petty, BA (History), BA (Genealogy)

Ancestors are the People of History. Do you know who yours are? Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry! 1-800-570-4049 www.heirlines.com PO Box 893 Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.

There is a crisis of truth in genealogy because there are no industry-wide comprehensive standards. Such standardization is a direct result of the formal institution of an organized profession. While there is rampant use of the terms Professional Genealogy and Professional Genealogist by the qualified practitioner, and the self-styled pro, and the amateur, there is no such organized profession in genealogy today. This lack of established and protected standards affects the accuracy, credibility and trustworthiness of all producers of family trees in the private and public domain; genealogical research findings, results and publications; Internet genealogy and family history websites, databases, postings, blogs, products, and services; qualifications for professional genealogist designation and formal educational programs, credentials, certifications, and accreditations. It has created the situation today of the blurred lines of distinction and separation between what and who is real, trustworthy, and true and what and who is not. Today’s Professional Genealogy is both a hobby and a commercial activity and Professional Genealogists can be qualified practitioners or self – styled pros and self-designated experts as well as hobbyists who do not take clients but want their genealogy labeled “professional”. Consumers need to know and understand all of this in order to be fully informed and able to make the best choices for their genealogy and family history needs.

Without profession-mandated and enforceable standards to qualify, establish, and certify practitioners, methodologies, best practices, ethics, resources and sources of information used in genealogy to research and produce the family tree and genealogical and historical products and services, genealogy truth is rootless. With the absence of such standards, anyone may claim anything as true and can market their work as professional, thereby misleading the consumer and creating over and over again the untrue facts that make up much of the world of genealogy. All are left with an “anything goes”, “buyers-beware” marketplace and environment in family history.

And the consumer has the right to know this, whether they be a hobbyist climbing their own family tree or a client seeking to hire a qualified genealogist to provide accurate genealogical research services; a genealogical society needing competent professionals to lecture, instruct or write about genealogy for their membership or a government agency requiring minority status authentication or locating fallen heroes next of kin; a doctor doing pharmacological or medical research using family health history or an attorney or academic in need of forensic genealogy and expert witness testimony; or a professional genealogist requiring authentic information or qualified pro to pro sub-contractor work.
Until a such profession is organized in genealogy and such standardization takes place to separate the qualified from the self-designated or hobbyist, consumers must do more thorough personal due diligence in choosing what information they will use in pursuit of their family tree, and in determining which practitioner is really qualified to supply them with the truth.

Consumers must be aware:

1. Recognize that Genealogy is both a hobby and a commercial activity, and has no organized profession. This blurs the line separating the real commercial practitioner and qualified professional genealogist from the amateur and the self-styled “pro” or so called “expert”. Anyone can call themselves a professional genealogist and claim professional status. The consumer must be the credentialing committee and do his own sifting for accurate information and qualifying their practitioner. To get what you want, to get what you pay for, to get the truth in genealogy today, consumers must learn the differences and separate the real professional and real commercial practitioners, products, and services from the amateur world of genealogy. And encourage the industry to organize and standardize a profession so the bar can be raised and standards set and maintained. This is in the best interests of the consumer, the practitioner, the industry, the profession, and the public and private domain family tree.
2. Look for a full-time career professional genealogist with credentials when you need professional research help and advice. Real professionals follow the professional career track: education, training, full-time experience, membership association, competency certification and accreditation, business license and membership. A smart consumer looks for a qualified professional genealogist who has a degree in genealogy, training in genealogy, full-time career work experience in genealogy, competency certification and accreditation, business license and compliance, and is a member in good-standing with APG.
3. Remember that the Internet is just a resource and must be carefully evaluated and sourced for accuracy. A pretty website does not make a professional nor represent truth. Something found on the Internet, does not make it true or false nor does it make the producer a professional or not. The consumer must determine the validity and trustworthiness for himself of what and who he finds on the Internet by using his personal standards of professionalism and business excellence. Or hire a qualified person to do it for them.
4. Anyone may self-designate as a professional genealogist. And charge money for it. With the absence of profession-mandated standards, anyone may claim anything as true and may market their work as professional, thereby misinforming the consumer and all who ever access their work. Traditionally a professional genealogist was someone who did research for hire. It is popular today in genealogy to claim professional status and to not do research for hire. Many such self-styled experts prefer to write about genealogy or have a blog, own a website related to genealogy, or lecture or instruct others about genealogy. Many such pros do this kind of genealogy as a side job or for their love of being involved in the genealogy world. Wise consumers will seek out career professional genealogists who have full-time experience in genealogy work when competent qualified research is needed.
5. Anyone is eligible to join the professional genealogy membership organizations that currently exist in professional genealogy by just paying their dues and agreeing to an ethics and membership standards statement. While there are no profession-prepared members-only organizations, these organizations often have arbitration committees that can help out when consumers or professional genealogists have issues. One such prominent organization is the Association of Professional Genealogists (www.apgen.org). It is open to all who pay their money and agree to adhere to the ethics and standards of the association. No professional pre-qualification is necessary. The prudent consumer should always choose a qualified practitioner who is in good standing with APG.
6. Currently there is no profession-prepared or education-based competency credential for the pre-qualified professional or career professional genealogy researcher. The same competency- tested credentials in genealogy research are available to hobbyists, self-styled experts and pros, and professionally designated practitioners alike, who apply and earn such credentials, whether or not they intend to do family history research for hire or commercial genealogy. Two competency–testing organizations exist in the world of genealogy today, The Board for Certification of Genealogists (www.bcgcertification.org) and The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (www.icapgen.org). These certification and accreditation bodies are open to all who wish to apply and then qualify as per their standards, and agree to abide by the ethics of said credentialing boards. No professional pre-qualification is necessary. These organizations also have arbitration committees for disputes and issues. This is a real plus for the consumer and practitioner.
7. For truth to grow and flourish in the world of genealogy, standardization must develop, bringing with it professionalization of the industry and competency, compliance, and certification. Look for a Profession in Professional Genealogy Research Services by 2020. In the meantime, become better informed about what constitutes truth and professionalism in genealogy so you can make the best choices for your unique family tree.

Submitted by Mary E. Petty, BA (History), BA (Genealogy)

Ancestors are the People of History. Do you know who yours are? Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry! 1-800-570-4049 www.heirlines.com PO Box 893 Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Professional Genealogy or Professional Genealogy Research Services is an emerging profession struggling to break away from the strangle-hold of its past history and today’s non- profession qualified practitioner performance of full-time and part-time workers in professional genealogy research services occupations, participants in genealogical avocations, and vendors in associated services and products. Most Professional Genealogists today are self-styled as professional and/or expert, and most do not work in Professional Genealogy. A few career professional genealogists have earned the required professional criteria that are the standardized attributes of a professional practicing or working in a profession and have the necessary education, training, experience to qualify as an expert. Any other use of the term “expert” or application to the unqualified is a dilution of its meaning and status, as has happened with the words “professional” and “profession” in genealogy. Only a formalized profession can qualify and credential its practitioners.

Currently, there is no profession of Professional Genealogy (Professional Genealogy Research Services), either as a self-regulated profession or as government-regulated. There are no profession-mandated standards for education, training, experience, credentialing, continuing education, ethics, best practices, methodology, members-only qualified membership organization and so on for the businesses of this field of endeavor or for establishing expert status. At best, Professional Genealogy or Professional Genealogy Research Services are occupations or avocations in genealogy research and associated vendors where everyone does their own thing, except where the professional genealogist has been willing to subject their way of doing business to some membership or credentialing body that is open to all without regards to a formally established profession. Otherwise there is no oversight or determination of any practitioner, standards, ethics or practices.

Results by such “so-called” professionals or experts are only as trusted and reliable as the consumer believes to be true. This applies to all types of consumers, be they pro to pro, professional and vendor online listing malls, online databases, private and public domain family tree and family history, society and genealogical publications, consumers from all walks of life and professional genealogy business uses. This consumerism needs trusted professional practitioners and results; this professionalism and expertise benefits the consumer, the practitioner, and the profession. This is a key reason for creating a profession in Professional Genealogy or Professional Genealogy Research Services.

I support and call for the institution of a self regulated profession for these occupations to ensure profession-qualified experts and to establish a reliable method for such determination for the consumer, the practitioner, and the profession. Until such a formalized step is taken, whoever uses the terms “profession”, “expert” and/or “professional” is wholly responsible and accountable for their application of the term, the consumers reaction to it, and its effect on the credibility and reliability of the occupations associated thereto. Professional, Profession, and Expert are only words in today’s world of Professional Genealogy (Professional Genealogy Research Services.). By 2020 I hope to see these terms correctly applied to a real profession and its practitioners.

Sincerely yours,

Mary E. Petty, B.A. (History), B.A. (Genealogy)
APG member Salt Lake Utah and National
==============================================================
Ancestors are the People of History. Do you know who yours are?
Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry!
1-800-570-4049 ▪ www.heirlines.com ▪ PO Box 893 ▪ Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recently the news has been besieged by false notifications of many celebrity deaths. As people have rushed to learn more about these star passings, more and more they are finding conflicting information and outright untruths. What a waste of time and money and resources! On July 1, 2009 John Sutter of CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/01/celebrity.death.pranks/index.html) wrote:

“The situation is calling attention to the changing state of the news media: As information online moves faster and comes from more sources, it's more difficult to verify what's true and what may be shockingly false.

Some have downplayed the situation, saying the rumors are not harmful. Others find the situation offensive in light of the actual deaths last week.

Internet-savvy readers can tell the difference between fake news and real information that has been verified by a trusted blogger or mainstream news reporter, said Gabriel Snyder, managing editor at Gawker, a celebrity news and gossip blog not associated with the rumors.”

This sounds a lot like the current day situation in genealogy found on the Internet. Because we live in a day of self-styled professionalism for genealogy research, education, information, technology and materials, and citizen genealogy blogging, the consumer is having a very tough time finding trustworthy sites in their quest for accurate and trustworthy results and advice. And with the plethoration of Internet sources and resources, and lack of true professional authority, it is becoming even more difficult for the truth to be distinguished from all that is there, and even to find trusted professionals. There is a lot of fake genealogy to wade through online to find real genealogical information and qualified competent professional help. The consumer needs to have authoritative credentialed sources for genealogy results, data, information, technology, instruction, speaking, writing, and blogging. Such professionalism would enhance the credibility of both public and private domain family trees, blogs and genealogical materials and information now found on the Internet and in turn, benefit the consumer, the practitioner, and the emerging profession in Professional Genealogy Research Services.

We here at www.Heirlines.com support the establishment of such a profession in Professional Genealogy Research Services, with autonomous regulation by a professional organization composed of qualified members-only practitioners who can do professional genealogical research. and teach, write, and mentor for clients, students, professionals, governments, and private and public organizations on and off the Internet about professional genealogy. Here consumers will find qualified professionals with profession-regulated and recognized credentials capable of producing trusted verifiable professional genealogy research and authenticated information in all formats in research results, education, technology, and advice. Professionalization will help the savvy consumer find trustworthy practitioners and trusted results, sources, technology, blogging, teaching, writing, speaking, and all things genealogical.

Submitted by

Mary E. Petty, B.A. (History), B.A. (Genealogy)
==============================================================
Ancestors are the People of History. Do you know who yours are?
Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry!
1-800-570-4049 ▪ www.heirlines.com ▪ PO Box 893 ▪ Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.