History

Presentation: Genealogy and Family History Symposium 2026

Day 2, Latino/Hispanic Room B
Thursday, 8/13/2026
10:00 - 4:00
Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room B
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

The Genealogy and Family History Symposium 2026 is a two-day conference presented by the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) and the California Genealogical Society (CGS), featuring speakers from both SFPL and CGS, as well as other local genealogy organizations covering a diverse range of topics. You will learn about physical and electronic resources available at the Main Library that can aid your research, as well as how to search for specific ancestors like African American, Portuguese, Chinese, Filipino American, Russian American and more. The symposium will take place in the lower level of the library with presentations in the Koret Auditorium and Latino/Hispanic Room B (schedule below), discussion groups in Latino/Hispanic Room A and organizations tabling in the Koret Lobby.

Download the full two-day schedule (coming soon).

SCHEDULE OF SPEAKERS FOR LATINO/HISPANIC ROOM B, DAY 2

10:15 a.m. | Once Upon a Time…Creating Compelling Stories Out of Mundane Facts
Linda Okazaki, CGS
(description coming).

11:15 a.m. | Preserving Family Collections
Elise Hochhalter, Book Conservator, SFPL
Get quick tips and advice on how to care for physical family treasured collections, including letters, official documents, photographs and scrapbooks, ensuring that these precious artifacts endure for generations to comes.

12 - 1:15 p.m. | LUNCH BREAK

1:15 p.m. | Using African American Funeral Program Archives to Enhance Your Research
Shawna Sherman, Program Manager, African American Center, SFPL
Funeral programs are a unique form of remembrance prevalent in African American communities. Produced at death and often part of homegoing ceremonies, these programs record biographical details along with family names, dates, hobbies and religious affiliations. Learn more about where to find funeral program collections and how they might inform your information gathering. 

2:15 p.m. | African American Genealogy Discussion Group
Patricia Smith Jenkins, CGS
Patricia Smith Jenkins will facilitate a discussion group and share her knowledge about some of the historical challenges to researching African Americans in the United States and some strategies to help break through brick walls. All questions and comments welcome..

 

See schedules for the Koret Auditorium and Latino/Hispanic Room A.

See the schedule for Day 1.

Community & Neighborhood

Build connections with others in our local programs.

History

Learn more about local history.

Summer Stride

Summer Stride is the Library's annual summer learning, reading and exploration program for all ages and abilities. Read and learn with the Library all summer long.

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.