FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Utah Community Meeting 2012 July 11

Click to join the meeting, 9:00–10:00 a.m. Wednesdays (Mountain). Meeting ID: 6804, click Attend Meeting, Sign in as a Guest (preferably with your name). (Further instructions under the label Join the meeting)

The Wiki currently has Special:Statistics articles in English

Agenda
Anyone new to this meeting?

Meeting Participants:

News and Events

 * July 19 Searching Ancestry presented by Sue Maxwell. UGA Virtual Chapter meeting which occurs every 3rd Thursday, 7:00 p.m. (Mountain).
 * July 31-Aug 3 BYU Conference on Family History &amp; Genealogy
 * August 18 (Saturday) UGA Regional Conference Cedar City
 * September 21 and 22 (Friday and Saturday) UGA Regional Conference Sandy

Review of last meeting

 * Wednesday, 27 June

Progress reports

 * On June 13th, a problem with the " " code showing up in headings after a "show preview." Pat may have discovered an insight.
 * When we leave a page open in edit mode too long, the wiki editor has, in some cases, turned most of the page into very strange code. It is likely a bug, but let's avoid it by not staying in edit mode more than ___ minutes?
 * Birth topic was updated per last meeting. Will review FIRST in order to complete discussion and begin writing the task.
 * Probate, and Cemeteries are ready for review prior to writing tasks.
 * History timeline update: Marty Simon (a missionary) is starting those updates Beaver County. She was given a pattern for citing internet sources for information added to the timeline.
 * Neighboring county maps: What do you think? (Joy Bogar, a missionary, has been practicing and is starting in ernest.
 * Also put a link to AniMap (Genealogy.inc) for each county none for Utah yet
 * Utah page updated: The area previously called "Utah's Most Unique Genealogical Features" was renamed to "Major Online Resources", with resources and brief commentary added. Also the "Utah Featured Articles" area had been fouled up by the FCK editor somehow.

Vital records (BMD, Div)
The discussion today will focus on sources suggested. Areas of concern are:


 * Not repeating state-level on county, but only linking them to state pages
 * What sources will help the user most for this topic, whether it is state, county, or town level.

Birth in bulleted style Suggest resources, review for dates and content.

Discussion minutes:
 * Add the link to the state VR page for birth -- remove the death certif one (take off the statewide ones).
 * If they go to the state page, will a novice find it easily, quickly?
 * Should have that on the state page, if not add it.
 * Send them to the death collection on the state page -- too many resources on state page, get discouraged with too many links. Catch them with success and you have them forever.
 * Link directly to that on the state page, which will list others.
 * Too many links, or state page may be overwhelming
 * List in order of importance.
 * Make them double-click?
 * uncomforatable with putting state sources on county pages.
 * Need to train them to go to the state pages
 * But constantly sending them back to the state page, why do the county pages?
 * Be sure to look at what is on the state page.
 * Tips for how to make the best use of the wiki. Look at county as well as the state. Some things that are training.
 * Would be helpful for ward consultants -- how do you want us to teach people to use the wiki? They get to county level quite fast
 * Historical Records Collections are putting things on state level that are actually county level.
 * Really want them to get to state, since so much there that would be useful for them; county level gets more specific for that county; jurisdiction levels -- they need to know; they need a training and mentality set they need to know or it is a disservice to them.
 * Beginners have some tendency give up too quickly if we present too much
 * Lot on state pages, they don't know.
 * More explanations on state pages as well. Missing that when they only go to the county pages.
 * Need explanations on the county pages. At FHC's they won't have us sitting by them, refer them to the state page.
 * They do have to have some training -- help them not to lose it.
 * Basic search strategies tip. (How to use this outline.) Get them going in the right direction.
 * People are looking for a database, not analyzing what they need. They need to be going back and forth between co and state
 * Database mentality is for initial success. Then they will read once we have them. Give the shortcuts - do anything to find the name, to get them the desire.
 * Reach the people who don't have someone sitting by them to understand how to do the proper research.
 * I like to think the wiki can do all of this -- we just haven't discovered how as yet.
 * Compromise: list one or two state, then suggest the state page. Flavor of what is on the state page.
 * Search strategies on county pages
 * Have something that helps them go back to the state page.
 * When how to learn, send them to the US page, it has done a good job with
 * Repetitions
 * So tied to words -- wade through so many words. Must be carefully worded, brief, effective.
 * Short, and it needs to be there. Know the concept, keep it short, once we know it, we filter, skip over it. Format is consistent, tend to filter.

Comments recieved offline:


 * Use the link to whet their appetite to go to the state pages.
 * Don't be like the yellow pages, where you get to what you want and it says to look under another topic. It takes the same amount of space and time to just give them the link.
 * should just put a one sentence blurb on each county page saying for search strategies, go to the Utah page and link them to that page

Summary of minutes:

"Quick" Tasks
Topics that may need less discussion: Leader/assistants do examples, get suggestions and approval:


 * Probate
 * Cemeteries
 * Land
 * Court
 * Funeral home records

Future meetings
Meetings will be held on Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m.

Next week:


 * Progress reports
 * Future focus for discussions:


 * Church records
 * Cemetery records
 * Library area of each county


 * Tip Bank