The Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship

Arlington, VA, 3 May 2016— Drew Smith, MLS, is the 2016 recipient of the Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship. Smith, an Assistant Librarian in the Academic Services department of the University of South Florida Tampa Library, received his award and its $1,000 prize, which is underwritten by ProQuest, at the opening session of the National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2016 Family History Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The Filby Award is named for the late P. William Filby, former director of the Maryland Historical Society and author of many core genealogical reference tools that genealogists have relied on for decades.  Created in 1999 by NGS, the award has been sponsored by ProQuest and Mr. William Forsyth since 2006.

Smith joined the University of South Florida Tampa Library and Information Science (now the School of Information) as an instructor and held that post to 2007. During that time, he taught undergraduate-level courses in library/Internet research skills and website design, and graduate-level courses in genealogical librarianship and indexing/abstracting.  He is the founder and administrator of the GENEALIB mailing list, a service for librarians serving genealogists.

He has written articles on genealogy for Genealogical Computing, Digital Computing, and NGS NewsMagazine (now NGS Magazine) and currently writes Rootsmithing with Technology column for FORUM, published quarterly by the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS).  In 2009, Genealogical Publishing Company published his first genealogy book, Social Networking for Genealogists. His second book, co-authored with George G. Morgan, is Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques, published in 2013 by McGraw-Hill.

Smith regularly speaks at conferences and meetings of national, state, and local genealogy societies, especially on topics linking genealogy and technology.  Together with George G. Morgan, he has been the co-host of The Genealogy Guys Podcast, the longest-running regularly produced genealogy podcast in the world, since 2005.  Smith presented “Genealogy Programming at Your Library” at this year’s NGS Conference Librarians’ Day.

Smith served nine years as the president of the Florida Genealogical Society of Tampa, two years as secretary of the Association of Professional Genealogists, five years as a Director of FGS, and is current chair of the Family History Information Standards Organization. 

Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society is dedicated to genealogical education, exemplary standards of research, and the preservation of genealogical records.  The Arlington, Virginia, based nonprofit is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to the most advanced family historian, seeking excellence in publications, educational offerings, and guidance in research. It also offers many opportunities to interact with other genealogists.

Please visit the NGS Pressroom for further information.

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