The big news that hit the (mostly US) genie world this past week was that the two big US national genealogical organisations: the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and the National Genealogical Society (NGS) are set to amalgamate.

While this is big, big news in the US, not so much here … still interesting to hear, as I have heard rumours of alamgamations between various societies in Australia. So it will be interesting to hear if anything ever comes of them.

Anyway below is a portion of the official Press Release (you can read the full Press Release here):

In a historic move, the boards of the National Genealogical Society (NGS) and the Federation of GenealogicalSocieties (FGS) announced today their intent to merge. The two organizations, both non-profit leaders in the dynamic genealogy industry, will form one consolidated group that will continue to operate as the National Genealogical Society. 
Leaders of both organizations believe this merger will serve the genealogy community by improving support of both individual members and societies in the pursuit of genealogical excellence.
The organizational structure of NGS will be modified to increase functions that support genealogical societies and family organizations. The two organizations will continue to operate independently while all details of the merger are completed, no later than October 1, 2020.
While I did see the initial responses on social media about after the announcement, most of which were along the lines of “this is great, I won’t have to go to both conferences”, numerous geneabloggers have had their say on the matter already. One of them, Amy Johnson Crow, writes it well, explaining that it’s not a simple matter to merge, as both organisations served different purposes: one for individuals and the other for societies. I urge you to take a few moments to read her report on this, as while it may not be applicable here in Australia, it’s still very interesting to hear what it going on in the genie world – What the FGS/NGS Merger Could Mean for Societies.
As for Australian Societies … time will tell what will happen, but in general most say they’re struggling. So if you believe in the value of genealogy societies, do what you can to support them, be it through membership, volunteering, or promotion. Everything helps.