This document outlines the development and delivery of a massive open online course (MOOC) on genealogy research offered by the North Carolina Government and Heritage Library in collaboration with Wake Forest University. The 4-module course included video lessons, tutorials, readings, quizzes and discussion prompts. Over 4,000 people signed up for the course and 361 were estimated to have completed it. Feedback was positive, with 90% finding the experience valuable and 92% saying they would recommend it. The collaboration allowed for expanded outreach and engagement with users beyond typical in-person programs.

2. Outreach and Educational
Programs Librarian,
North Carolina Government
and Heritage Library
State Library of North Carolina
rebecca.hyman@ncdcr.gov
@ncpedia
Rebecca Hyman

3. Kyle Denlinger
eLearning Librarian,
Z. Smith Reynolds Library
Wake Forest University
denlinkd@wfu.edu
@kyledenlinger

4. WHAT WE DID WAS
WEIRD

5. MISSION OF

6. NON-FORMAL
COURSES

7. WE ARE
Y’ALL!

8. zsr.wfu.edu/zsrx

9. WE WANT MORE!

10. GENEALOGY?
HOW ABOUT

11. Government & Heritage
Library, State Library of NC

12. INSTRUCTION
GENEALOGY

13. COLLABORATION!

14. Instructional

15. Course Modules
1: Getting Started
2: US Census
3: Local Resources
4: Digital Collections

16. Content & Activities
• “Welcome Back” Video
• Video lessons & tutorials
• Suggested readings
• Fillable PDFs

17. Content & Activities
• Self-check Quizzes
• Discussion Prompts
• Collaborative Directories
• Mini-Projects

18. LEARNING TOGETHER

20. Production

21. Productions
Wrought Iron

22. bit.ly/rootsmooc-vids

23. bit.ly/rootsmooc-vids

24. bit.ly/rm-tutorials

25. bit.ly/rootsmooc-guide

26. canvas.net

28. bit.ly/rootsmooc-eval

29. PROMOTION

30. PARTNERS

31. RUNNING THE COURSE

32. HEALTHY MIX
• 74% Experienced
• 26% Newcomers

34. “LEAD LEARNER”

35. CHANGES ON THE FLY

36. MEASURING ENGAGEMENT

37. 4014
Signed Up

38. Over 55

39. From NC

40. 50%
Non-users

41. 90%
Valuable
Experience

42. Would Recommend
92%
Would
Recommend

43. SCALING UP

44. 427per year
GHL:
(average)

45. 361“completed”
RootsMOOC:
(estimated)

46. THAT’S A WRAP

47. THANK YOU!

48. Photo Credits
“Children’s Party, Dublin, 1920s” via National Library of Ireland on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/5786204856
“Dog Riding a Tricycle” via National Media Museum on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/3084876560
“The Long Room” via National Library of Ireland on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/6713554905
“Author Richard Mabry speaks about his latest book at the November 16 Classic Readers meeting” via Frisco Public Library on
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/friscolibrary/6383522883 CC BY-NC-SA
“ZSR Library at Twilight” by Susan Smith on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cellphonesusie/11318097966 CC BY-NC-SA
“Apollo 11 Welcome” via NASA on The Commons on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/7876170256
"Genealogy - À la recherche du temps perdu" by Eva the Weaver on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/evaekeblad/8408332720 CC BY-NC-SA
"State Library of North Carolina" photo courtesy of the State Library of North Carolina. Used with permission.
"Genealogy Instruction" photo courtesy of the State Library of North Carolina. Used with permission.
“Richard M. Nixon and Elvis Presley at the White House” via US National Archives on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/3679494978

49. Photo Credits
“Image from page 110 of ‘Blueprint reading; a practical manual of instruction in blueprint reading through the
analysis of typical plates with reference to mechanical drawing conventions and methods, the laws of projection,
etc’ (1919)” via Internet Archive Book Images on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14757743076
“Mobile library, Hood Collection, 20 October 1950” via State Library of New South Wales on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/6799598739
“Image from page 874 of ‘News notes of California libraries’” via Internet Archive Book Images on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14589655018
“Wrought Iron Productions in the GHL” image courtesy of Kyle Denlinger, CC-BY.
“Boys cheering when their favorite team scores” via Nationaal Archief on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/4681460753
“Bugle Megaphone, Fort Totten (LOC)” via Library of Congress on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/19983880178

50. Photo Credits
“The ploughman's team” via Powerhouse Museum on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2581833315
“Harlescott [Junior] School Sports” via The National Library of Wales on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/llgc/7041859079
“Georgia? (LOC)” via The Library of Congress on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179067948
“Employee with slide rule, Hercules Powder Co. Experiment Station, Wilmington, DE” via SMU Central University
Libraries on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/smu_cul_digitalcollections/8568743839
“Lockheed C-141 Model in TDT” via NASA on The Commons on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/7605909202
“A possum and a movie camera 1943” via Australia War Memorial collection on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/australian-war-memorial/3527157206
“Apollo 13 Mission Control Celebrates" via NASA on The Commons on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/7610986228