FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Ohio

Overall Objectives
The purpose of the Ohio Wiki Project is to help readers find and use Ohio resources and records for genealogy and family history. The project will update and improve:


 * Ohio county pages. Example Mahoning County
 * Ohio main page.
 * Statewide topic pages. Example Vital Records
 * Other Ohio-related pages

Guiding Principles

 * Highlight important and relevant items. Long lists of every website or every publication would bury, rather than highlight, what's important.


 * Tell readers what to expect when they follow a link or search a suggested record.


 * Balance content with these four factors in mind:


 * a. Genealogical Value. Does this help Wiki users further their research?
 * b. Clarity. Make sure everyone understands your meaning and the purpose of your words.
 * c. Brevity. Be succinct as possible without sacrificing purpose or clarity.
 * d. Documentation. Use footnote(s) to identify the source(s) of the content you are creating.

For each section containing information regarding resources and records, the following should be included:


 * Links to online resources: indexes and/or images of records or how to use those records.
 * Links to catalogs such as the Google books, WorldCat, Family History Library Catalog among others.

For more style and guidelines for the Ohio Wiki Project.

Phase 1
The first phase includes adding content to each Ohio county page. Content will be added by completing written tasks that will apply to each county. These tasks will have written instructions giving guidance on how to enter information, format

the information, and how to cite the information, when applicable. Some of these tasks entail specifically:


 * County headings - additional county headings will be added to each county page to make them uniform and cover more research topics users may have questions on
 * Infoboxes - adding dates concerning major resources for each county and giving information regarding important Ohio statewide indexes
 * County repositories (libraries, archives, museums) - contact information for repositories that hold original and compiled records for individuals that lived in that county including links to the repositories' websites with additional information

Phase 2
The second phase focuses on the following record types:


 * Vital Records (county only)
 * Probate Records
 * Land Records

Each record type above will include what records are available, time period the record covers and how they can be accessed including links to databases, images and references to books and microfilm and information to repositories.

Phase 3
The third phase focuses on the following records types:


 * Church records
 * Tax records
 * Newspapers

Each record type above will include what records are available, time period the record covers and how they can be accessed including links to databases, images and references to books and microfilm and information to repositories.

Phase 4
The fourth phase focuses on the following records types:


 * County histories - list of county histories available with links to online books and references to libraries
 * Cemeteries - links to major cemetery websites that contain cemetery transcriptions for the county

Schedule
Beginning June 2012

Ohio Wiki Project Tasks
Before beginning any tasks please review the Ohio Project guidelines.

FIRST TIME WIKI USERS: For instructions on how to edit the wiki use the following:


 * Online and Video Instructions
 * Editing on the Wiki written instructions

The following are tasks to be accomplished for the Ohio Wiki Project. Each task has step-by-step instructions to accomplish it. '''SOME TASKS ARE NOT YET COMPLETED. WHEN TASKS ARE LINKED THEY ARE READY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO WORK ON THEM.'''

Example of Ohio County Page
COMING SOON!!

Guidelines and Style
Style and guidelines for the Ohio Wiki Project

Participants
If you are interested in participating in the Ohio Wiki Project, please fill in your name and contact info:

Community Meetings
To be determined

Online meetings with focus on Wiki pages for Ohio.


 * Share ideas, suggest improvements
 * Get news and progress reports.

Attend from home, at a library, or wherever you have an internet connection and a telephone.

Current Meetings
None are scheduled at this time.