{"id":107096,"date":"2026-03-09T11:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=107096"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:02:21","slug":"enjoying-rootstech-all-year-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/enjoying-rootstech-all-year-long.html","title":{"rendered":"Enjoying RootsTech All Year Long"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega shows how the free RootsTech Video Library offers recorded presentations and downloadable handouts, so that you can continue to enjoy RootsTech all year long. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Even though RootsTech 2026 ended Saturday, March 7, that doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s really over. Yes, the in-person event at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah, is over for this year \u2013 but there\u2019s more to RootsTech than the three-day conference.<\/p>\n

Lucky for us there is one aspect of RootsTech that is available year-round, that you can access whenever it\u2019s convenient for you: recorded videos with downloadable handouts.<\/p>\n

Online Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

Presentations at RootsTech were available to the in-person audience and, in many cases, also available online, in which case they were recorded and archived on the RootsTech website. While there is an obvious benefit to attending RootsTech in person, those of us who couldn\u2019t attend can still benefit \u2013 and that benefit is not limited to one week in March.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech homepage. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To access the recorded lectures from this year and previous years, go to the RootsTech homepage<\/a>. At the top right corner is a link to Watch Videos.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech homepage \u2013 Watch Videos link. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Click on that link to reveal the drop-down menu. The link for Browse the Library<\/a> takes you to the Video Library<\/a> page where you can browse by trending topics or video thumbnails, or do a search. The first videos you will see are those from this year\u2019s conference.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech Video Library. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recorded RootsTech 2026 presentations will be available online for years to come, as are recorded presentations from previous years. Once again, remember: not all RootsTech presentations were recorded, so if you don\u2019t see a video for a presentation you remember from attending RootsTech a previous year, it\u2019s possible that particular presentation was for the in-person audience only.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em> Not sure what to watch? You can find recommendations by those who attended in person and online by searching the hashtags #RootsTech, #RootsTech2026, or #NotAtRootsTech on your favorite social media website such as Facebook or Instagram.<\/p>\n

You can search the RootsTech video library by a topic you are interested in, such as AI or DNA. You could also search by the name of a genealogy speaker you enjoy. Keynotes are one of the types of presentations you will find here. Keynotes from this year\u2019s conference including one by Tara Roberts<\/a>,\u00a0who is a National Geographic Explorer and scuba diver. In this presentation, she discusses her work uncovering the stories of those who perished on sunken slave ships. This is a great example of uncovering stories that were once seemingly impossible to discover.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech Video Library \u2013 Tara Roberts\u2019 presentation. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once you are on the web page for a presentation you have chosen, you will want to take note of a few features.<\/p>\n

An Example of a RootsTech 2026 Video: Bonnie Wade Mucia<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this example we are looking at the web page for the 2026 presentation, \u201cUntangling the Darling Web: Advanced Strategies for Same Name Resolution<\/a>\u201d by Bonnie Wade Mucia.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech Video Library \u2013 Bonnie Wade Mucia\u2019s presentation. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This lecture was presented in person and online, so it was recorded and archived on the website\u2019s Video Library. On this web page you will see at the top center a video with a \u201cplay\u201d button in the middle. This is the website\u2019s video viewer; just press the button to start the presentation. Once you start the video, other options will appear in the viewer, including a volume control and the ability to make the video full screen.<\/p>\n

To the right of the viewer is a chat feature. This chat feature was used during RootsTech. In this example I am not signed into the RootsTech website. So, the archived chat text is not available.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em> You can sign into the RootsTech website at the top right. The sign-in is your FamilySearch account credentials. This is a free account.<\/p>\n

If I sign into the website I can see what was entered into the chat, which might include questions for the speaker and comments about the presentation. This is an added benefit as you watch the video. You may learn of additional resources from the presenter or the audience.<\/p>\n

Now, scroll down the page to see if a handout and presentation slides are available to download.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech Video Library \u2013 downloads available from Bonnie Wade Mucia\u2019s presentation. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not every presentation will include the speaker\u2019s slides. These are great tools to help you in studying the topic the speaker is presenting. Please remember that the handout and slides are for your personal study. Respect the speaker\u2019s copyright by not sharing or using them for any other purpose.<\/p>\n

Further down the presentation\u2019s web page, under Suggested Content, are other videos in the library that are on a similar topic that you may be interested in.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech Video Library \u2013 suggested content for Bonnie Wade Mucia\u2019s presentation. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some Presentations That Were Not Recorded Can Still Offer Valuable Content<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now remember that some in-person presentations were not made available to the online audience and thus not recorded. Such was the case with Bonnie Wade Mucia\u2019s second RootsTech presentation, \u201cWriting Beyond the Records: Using Historical Context to Strengthen Genealogy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, she did allow RootsTech to share her presentation\u2019s handout and slides online. So, though we can\u2019t watch the video, we can benefit from the handout and slides.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:<\/a>
Screenshot: RootsTech Video Library \u2013 downloads available from Bonnie Wade Mucia\u2019s second, unrecorded presentation. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once again, remember: not every speaker provided a handout or slides, so you will need to consult the individual web page for each presentation you are interested in to see if they are available.<\/p>\n

Create Your Playlists<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em> Another benefit of signing into the RootsTech website with your FamilySearch account is that you can create your own playlists of videos to watch from this and previous years.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot:
Screenshot: RootsTech Video Library \u2013 showing feature to create your own playlists. Credit: FamilySearch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Will You Watch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I watched some of the presentations live during RootsTech, but life got in the way and I missed others on my must-watch list. That\u2019s ok; now that the conference is over, I\u2019m going to spend some time curating a list of videos that I want to see and dedicate some time each week to watching a video or two. The Video Library gives you that luxury of time and the ability to benefit from RootsTech all year round!<\/p>\n

Create a free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days to start your genealogy journey and discover the stories your ancestors left behind.<\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> a past RootsTech genealogy conference. Credit: mormonnewsroom.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gena Philibert-Ortega shows how the free RootsTech Video Library offers recorded presentations and downloadable handouts, to keep enjoying RootsTech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":106857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12717],"tags":[1655,59240],"class_list":["post-107096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-conferences-activities","tag-rootstech","tag-rootstech-2026"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/photo-0202-2016-featured-graphic-genealogy-conferences.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107096"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107123,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107096\/revisions\/107123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}