Mission & Vision
Our mission statement sets out the guiding principles of the SBCGS, informed by our vision and values. In August 2021, the Society’s Board adopted this mission, vision, and values statement.
Mission: We help people discover, document, preserve, and share their family histories in California, the United States, and around the world.
Vision
We are leaders in providing genealogical resources and education for remote users and for genealogists in the tri-counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo:
- Delivering access to national and international genealogical resources, both in print and online at the Sahyun Genealogical Library in Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Offering outstanding educational opportunities for remote and in-person learning
- Digitizing and providing access to primary-source Santa Barbara County documents, including city directories, funeral home records, local cemetery transcriptions, and vital records (birth, death, marriage).
- Creating communities of genealogists, including special-interest groups researching specific ethnicities, countries, technology, and more
- Providing expert assistance to researchers in one-on-one, group, and online settings
- Promoting the results of genealogical research in the tri-counties and worldwide, via local and online exhibitions, articles by members in Society publications, library resources, and more.
Values
- Include all races, religions, and ethnicities
- Honor family ties
- Foster collaboration between Society volunteers and Sahyun Library users
- Support new genealogists and encourage them to join Society and local societies
- Partner with and reach out to societies and genealogists throughout the Central Coast
- Support new genealogists and encourage them to join Society and local societies
- Honor the importance of individual stories in the historical record
- Unite Society members regularly through participation in a variety of Society activities
- Connect and share stories, expertise, resources, and records via the Society
Values
- Include all races, religions, and ethnicities
- Honor family ties
- Foster collaboration between Society volunteers and Sahyun Library users
- Support new genealogists and encourage them to join Society and local societies
- Partner with and reach out to societies and genealogists throughout the Central Coast
- Support new genealogists and encourage them to join Society and local societies
- Honor the importance of individual stories in the historical record
- Unite Society members regularly through participation in a variety of Society activities
- Connect and share stories, expertise, resources, and records via the Society