This was a rare opportunity to get deep inside the story of Jewish Records Indexing-Poland (JRI-Poland), an award-winning international project to create Internet-searchable access to the Jewish vital records of Poland.

Diamond presented an update on JRI-Poland's revolutionary next-generation website and data management  project and the current status of various records-indexing and extraction projects, the latest news on scanning of Jewish records in the Polish State Archives, and an overview of projects for which hundreds of thousands of records have already been indexed.

Both new and more experienced researchers were able to ask questions directly related to their research and learn about off-line records and what might be expected in the foreseeable future. Diamond also fielded questions about visiting Poland and how to find the best guides and researchers.

Biography:

Stanley M. Diamond is the founder and executive director of Jewish Records Indexing – Poland. He is founding president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal and the winner of the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal of Canada for his work in establishing and directing JRI–Poland.  

Diamond is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.