HISTORY OF THE GSBC - Dedicated to Preserving Imprints on the Sands of Time.
The
Genealogical Society of Broward County had its beginning in 1967
when five people attended an organizational meeting. Rapid growth began
in the
mid-1970's with the Bicentennial and Alex Haley's novel, ROOTS, putting
emphasis on history and family history.
By the late 1970's, the Society had over a hundred members and was
meeting in a
courtroom of the Broward County Courthouse one evening a month. In 1988
the
meeting place was moved to Plantation Central Park Recreation Building
and the
time was changed to Sunday afternoon. In 1997, the Society had 122
members and
met in the Community Room of the West Regional Library in Plantation on
the
first Sunday of each month at 2:30 PM. To meet the growing need for
information
related to using computers with genealogy, an Internet Interest Group
was
formed in 1994, which meets at 1:15 PM before the regularly scheduled
meeting.
This is an informal meeting which has as its purpose the sharing of
information.
In 1977 the Genealogical Society of Broward County was chartered as a
non-profit cultural organization. The Society is funded by membership
dues and
a restricted endowment in the form of certificates of deposit created
by life
memberships. The dues and interest from the certificates of deposit pay
the
cost of the Society's publications - the quarterly, "IMPRINTS", the
monthly newsletter which is mailed to each member - and the operating
expenses
of the Society.
The members of the Genealogical Society of Broward County are a diverse
group
with the common interest of tracing their family history. The purpose
of the
Society is to foster this interest, provide information, assistance and
encouragement and to promote the preservation of information of a
genealogical
and historical nature.
The main project of the Society is the Genealogical Library which was
maintained and staffed by member volunteers. In the early years, the
Society
owned a few books which were brought to each meeting in a small cart.
Members
could check out the books and return them at the next monthly meeting.
In 1977
the Genealogical Society of Broward County members decided to establish
a
library. The few books owned by the Society were supplemented with
member
donations and books on loan.
The first home for the library was in an office in the 351 Building on
Broward
Boulevard in Plantation. The Society's genealogical collection was
housed in
the Genealogy Room of the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation City Library,
Plantation
until the end of 1998. The next location for the Library was 6500
Parkside Drive
(the OLD Parkland City Hall), Parkland, FL. When the Parkland City
Library was
built we moved into the new Parkland Library located at 6600 North
University
Drive (at University Drive and Holmberg Road). The collection
has grown
over the years to be one of the best in South Florida.
In 2006 we again had to transfer our collection. This time it found a
permanent
home in the special reference collection section in the Alvin Sherman
Library
of Nova Southeastern University. The books and periodicals are being
catalogued
and are now available for use by the Society. Access to the library is
free.
With a Nova Southeastern Library Card everyone will have access to the
Computer
Genealogy programs which include Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest.com, and
ProQuest. Acquisitions
to the
collections are through donations and purchase. An annual fund-raiser
is held
by the Society to benefit the Library.
"It is a noble faculty of our nature which enables us to
connect our
thoughts, our sympathies, and our happiness, with what is distant in
place and
time; and looking before and after, to hold communion at once with our
ancestors and our posterity. There is also a moral and philosophical
respect
for our ancestors which elevates the character and improves the heart."
--
Daniel Webster