If you have not attended an IAJGS conference before, some of the terminology that most veterans take for granted, such as SIG or BOF may be challenging.
Special Interest Groups
SIG stands for Special Interest Group. SIGs are formal organizations with elected or selected volunteer leads and committees or boards usually associated with specific geographical areas or themes, such as Galicia, Romania, Latvia, Sephardic, etc. Researchers associated with these groups share a abiding interest in learning about their area, identifying and acquiring records and, perhaps, engaging local researchers to help them find additional records.
Many of the SIGs that meet at the IAJGS conference operate under the authority of and their webpages may be accessed via JewishGen. Membership is open to all and there are no membership fees – although groups may fund-raise for specific records-access projects.
Litvak SIG, JRI-Poland and Gesher Galicia are independent organizations with their own membership rules and dues. Although they all operate as SIGs and they may have agreements with JewishGen to host or share their databases online, they are separate organizations with their own elected officers and boards.
Birds of a Feather
BOF is the abbreviation for Birds of Feather. BOFs are often more narrowly defined interest groups for such areas as Svencionys, Suwalki, and Yizkor Books. But, sometimes they are like SIGs-in-training, i.e., nascent groups organized by those who felt that their shared research interest required a more focused effort. Geographically-specific BOFs often work within SIGs. Some BOFs are actually nation-specific, such as the Canada BOF or the United Kingdom BOF.
If you peruse the conference schedule you will notice that board meetings, SIG-sponsored meetings and presentations, and luncheons for specific SIGs are grouped on particular days. With the exception of catered luncheons, all SIG and BOF sessions on the schedule are open to all in attendance at the conference. Some of the SIGs have board or committee meetings during the conference – because this is often the only time during the year when the majority of the board is in the same location. You are welcome to attend.
There are eleven SIG luncheons scheduled for the conference. One must register and pay a separate fee to attend these events. Usually, the luncheons include an invited guest speaker with expertise in a SIG’s interest area. Sometimes, SIGs do not invite outside speakers, but take the time at their luncheon to update all in attendance on SIG projects and plans for the coming year. This may be the best times to get the insider scoop on the operations and plans for your SIG.
Luncheons
SIG luncheons are schedule as follows:
Sunday – JRI-Poland
Monday – Belarus, Gesher Galicia, and Latvia
Tuesday – Austria-Czech, Ukraine
Wednesday – German and Hungarian
Thursday – Bessarabia and Litvak, and JewishGen (not a SIG, but planning a luncheon)
To see the list of luncheons, speakers and topics, go to http://www.iajgs2016.org/sigluncheons/.
NOTE: July 10th is the cut-off date for registering for luncheons.
To add luncheons to your registration, go to the Attendee Service Center and sign in with your username and password.