What Does a GSBC Membership Support?

GSBC Presentations

Programs on a variety of genealogical and research topics including nationally-known guest speakers, films, and roundtable discussions.

GSBC General Meetings are held the 4th Monday of the month (except for December and holidays) at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL) Auditorium, Ridgewood, NJ (unless otherwise noted) and/or online. The program is preceded by a brief business meeting.

Begun in 2020, the GSBC also offers GSBC Extra! presentations, generally held online, monthly on a Monday @ 2pm and recorded. Topics have included important research repositories, local research, technology and DNA, research strategies, and more!

Members can view select presentations for a limited time after the meeting and download handouts provided by speakers. Speaker handouts are available to Members in the Members' section of the website.

GSBC Genealogy Consultants—Lookup Services

Members receive four complimentary look-ups—an invaluable service if you can’t make it to the research room or need additional help. See our GSBC Genealogy Consultants page for information on this benefit and to download an order form to get started.

GSBC Genealogy Consultants—On-Site Consultations

Members and the general public receive complimentary on-site consultation with GSBC Genealogy Consultants—your GSBC Membership helps support this important public service. See our GSBC Genealogy Consultants page for information on this benefit, appointment schedule, and how to get in touch with a Subject-Matter Expert for consultation.

The Archivist, Our Multi-Award Winning Society Newsletter

Published since 1973, The Archivist contains summaries of GSBC monthly programs and events, original transcriptions, research, and family histories, articles relating to genealogical research and tools as well as useful information on other societies, state, regional, and national events (full-color PDF with hyperlinks).

Back-issues of The Archivist published between 1973 and 2007 are available to the public.
More recent back-issues of The Archivist are available in the Members' section: Members' Login > Archivist

GSBC E-News

The GSBC E-News is our twice-monthly e-newsletter containing timely genealogical news of interest, including links to upcoming GSBC events, events and programs at other societies, links to articles and new online databases and repositories, items of interest to genealogists, local history, and so much more!

Back-issues of the GSBC E-News are available in the Members' section: Members’ Login > GSBC E-News.

Website and Members’ Access

An ever-growing and evolving central resource for GSBC members, the GSBC website contains members-only access to Bergen County indexes and genealogical information compiled by our membership, indexes for family files held at the RPL, immigration guides, back issues of The Archivist (2007 to present), and much more!

Bergen County-Focused Resources

Support of original Bergen County-focused indexes and research compiled by our volunteers to aid and expand access to information about Bergen County. This research is the lifeblood of our Society and our volunteers make it happen. Your membership dollars let our volunteers know that the hundreds, even thousands, of hours per year matters to researchers like you — and ensure that we, as a Society, make a meaningful contribution to the wider genealogical research community.

Support for the Bolger Heritage Center at the Ridgewood Public Library

A Bergen County-focused genealogy library and local history archive, the Bolger Heritage Center serves as “home base” for the Society as well as its collections. The GSBC helps shape the Bolger’s collections and provides new research for the public to enjoy.

Genealogical Databases and Library

Financial support for genealogical database subscriptions, including Ancestry LE (Library Edition), AmericanAncestors, newspaper databases, GSBC Family Files, how-to guides, professional standards publications, and an extensive local and regional reference collection.

Special Research-Focused Events

Past events have included on-site repository workshops; research road-trips; and news and information about local, regional, and national genealogy events.

Your GSBC Membership also Helps Support Special Events:

  • The GSBC Annual Seminar, a full-day seminar focused on a research topic of interest to our membership. (Additional seminar fee. Discount for GSBC Members.)
  • The Annual RPL-GSBC Lock-In, an evening of research, programs, and expert advice — long after the doors are closed to the general public. (Additional event fee.)
  • Discounted admission to Genealogy-Focused Classes and Workshops, In-Depth Courses, and SIGs taught by GSBC experts. (Additional fees, some events discounted for GSBC Members.)

Your GSBC Membership helps all this (and more!) happen—thank you!