LMentary Blog

Diploma in Genealogy 2014 - The Library Assessment

Twelve months ago three of my LMentary students sat the IHGS Higher Certificate papers, tomorrow they will spend a day in the IHGS Library undergoing the Diploma in Genealogy library assessment; the final hurdle in their quest to gain the IHGS Diploma in Genealogy (DipGen). The three have just completed my 'Exploring the Archives' Diploma in Genealogy mentoring course and so ended a journey they started with my beginners course in January 2010. 

The Diploma in Genealogy requires the student to undergo three tasks. The first is a piece of research as directed by the Institute. Students are given a starting point and expected to carry out approximately 25 hours of 'paid' research. They are to take the pedigree back as far as possible, within the timescales, and to produce a client report describing in detail their achievements.

The second element is the production of a portfolio; a collection of pieces that demonstrate the students ability to conduct research across a broad-range of record sources. Believe me, in October the June deadline seems such a long way away but time has a nasty habit of creeping up and giving you a nasty shock! Students are expected to present their portfolios to the examiner on the eve of the examination - TODAY!

The final element is the Library Assessment and Examination, held at the Institute and spanning the entire day. students will be given a piece of information with the instruction to identify a family name(s) and to then find out as much as possible about the family(s) from the collection of published sources held in the library. They will have THREE hours to discover as much as possible and then a further TWO hours after lunch to construct a pedigree tree based on their findings.

If that is not enough each student will then face the panel of examiners and undergo a 15 minute viva voce. Hopefully, by the end of the day, they will have done enough to warrant a pass. If they are successful in all three Diploma elements, the task, portfolio and library test, the Diploma in Genealogy is theirs and they will be heading back to Canterbury on the 26th July for the annual Awards Day.        

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