By Susan Weinberg, IAJGS President
We’d like to thank those of you who participated in IAJGS’s recent conference survey. We reached over 1000 people and received valuable input that will influence how we organize conferences in the future. We asked respondents if they would be willing to take a second survey with more extensive questions. Almost 300 people indicated they would, so we will be taking a deeper dive.
I wanted to share with you some of the things that surprised us.
While the majority preferred in-person conferences, virtual had strong appeal also. We anticipated that most would prefer in-person conferences, and while 59% preferred in-person, we were surprised to see that 41% preferred virtual. Part of the strong number for virtual may reflect our older population. Of our respondents, 84% were over 60 and 36% were 75 or older. Another factor may be cost, which came up as a frequent consideration.
Of those who have attended an IAJGS conference, 35% have attended virtual conferences and 65% attended in person conferences. Almost 40% of attendees had attended both.
Many respondents were not familiar with IAJGS conferences. Of those who completed the survey, 37% had not attended an IAJGS conference, and 40% indicated that was because they weren’t familiar with it. The message was clear—we need to reconsider how we reach out to assure more people are familiar with the IAJGS conference. An additional 28% cited cost as an obstacle to their attendance.
Location and Cost were the top two reasons that affected a decision to attend an in-person conference, and yet exploring the host city was last on the list of what was valued about conferences. At first those seemed contradictory. The cities on either coast are pretty cost prohibitive these days; the bigger the city, the higher the cost. Our theory on the low draw of city explorations during the conference is that there is already so much going on. Our hunch is that being near an area that lends itself to some vacation time pre- or post-conference would be attractive.
Once at the conference, attendees prioritized attending sessions and meeting and socializing with other genealogists. That was not a surprise, but it underscored our commitment to creating opportunities to socialize.
Preferred Conference Length has been a subject of much debate. Other organizations’ in-person genealogy conferences are around three days with maybe a pre- or post-conference day for workshops. We have a unique aspect with SIGS, BOFs, and Research Divisions that makes it hard to fit everything within three days. Attendees preferred three (51%) to four (37%) days for an in-person conference. Virtual conferences had 80% splitting their vote between two or three days.
More people would be likely to attend if the conference wasn’t in the summer. A net 25% of respondents indicated they would be more likely to attend if the conference was at a different time of year. We are expanding the range of times that we will consider a conference, realizing that timing is often constrained by Jewish holidays, avoiding overlap with other genealogy conferences, and availability of space.
We also received many comments, which will be helpful in how we structure conferences. The conference world has changed considerably in cost, so we want to put our efforts towards the things that matter most to you as attendees. We appreciate your sharing your thoughts with us as we rethink conferences and look forward to seeing you at future conferences.
