FamilySearch Wiki:Contributors Meeting 15 Jan 2015

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Welcome
Welcome to our guests, who are directors or assistant directors from 3 Utah-based Family History Centers.

Business/Announcements

 * Charles or other person Newton Utah Family History Center: newly formed, they need a page. Don't know if they need help adding to the page. I have no contact information, either. This came from a young Elder (Brooks?)

Guest Speakers

 * this week: Family History Center guests: Dennis and Richard (Layton Valley View FHC); Rilla and Jeri (Santaquin FHC); Pat (Riverton Regional);

Wiki Contributors: during the meeting, please reserve additional questions until the Centers have finished their comments.


 * 1. Quick overview of the Centers — whatever you would like to say about your center, such as projects you are doing, your FHC page on FamilySearch Wiki Santaquin; Layton Valley View; Riverton FamilySearch Library or the Internet, classes, etc.


 * Layton Valley View 22 computers all busy, 10 more ordered, youth council, several staff, numbers are up 200% from 2013;
 * one of 14 large centers; youth conferences; photo scanners, 150 computers; 90 stakes; up to 100 classes per month; some are wiki classes; handouts, fabulous team putting things together.
 * 16 computers, staff of 24; youth groups weekly; gearing up for Payson Temple dedication; motivating people; 6th family history day coming up soon, Classes, Family Tree, indexing, how to get started. Attendance has gone up yearly; from 2-3 days /week to Monday-Saturday. Some wards use it for teaching classes.


 * 2. Quick overview of the Wiki and items that can help patrons or beginning consultants
 * - How to access the Wiki from FamilySearch — click the Search tab and select "Wiki"
 * - United States page, show topic list, select any state, select any county.
 * - Show Illinois, Online Records, "Record Selection Table"


 * 3. What has been your experience using the FamilySearch Wiki? Please comment. We contributors want to learn what works AND what doesn't work for you.
 * - Do consultants in your Center use the FamilySearch Wiki to help patrons?
 * - Do you have suggestions to make the Wiki more helpful to consultants and patrons?


 * Dennis: normal patron can't find what's in there. He uses Google search to find things. Would be nice to have an index, a better search routine.
 * Wiki quickstart guide is 6 pages long. Riverton has a QuickStart Guide that helps people. We need to link to it also, all quickstart guides on under Get Help also.
 * Upgrade should improve the search. But still use Google.
 * Richard: learned since April, Wiki is NOT #1 on the priority list. Wiki is more advanced. They want names to take to the Temple, put families together. Illinois page would help, but still doesn't use it much because it doesn't have the names. If it takes more than 15 minutes to teach, we lose their attention. Find names FAST, and Wiki is not fast.
 * The Wiki will be important when the "low hanging fruit" is all picked.
 * Richard does statistics: everyone is not going to sit there and use the Wiki -- it is after they have become VERY interested and willing to do research
 * Find a way to get people to sources faster; has to be easy; they will it when they have a testimony doing research
 * Non-members usually come in with missionaries, so they get 1/1 help with experts.
 * If Wiki would put in a very basic course -- about Family Tree simple and basic on how to solve problems. Their courses (Layton) are 15 minutes so people can find these.
 * Or at least point to those courses
 * if you were to convince Family Tree to put links to wiki, into the "descendency" page of Family Tree, under the tourquoise square (or one of the boxes) which is from the right side of the "person page", then the patrons who are using Family Tree would have "leads" that would take them into the wiki. They would have an introduction to the wiki, and hopefully they would be more apt to use the wiki in the future.
 * If FamilyTree were put a link from a locality to that place page in the Wiki.
 * Fairfield Utah Historical Society recently formed Saratoga Springs Stake Sunday School classes. Have wiki pages for some pages. Lehi Historical Archives is working on the Wiki as well. They will have a barn raising for Fairfield. It is also a place to get people together to build things.
 * build links from the Wiki to blog pages - perhaps to unstable a target. Use the perma link if you can it. Some blogs have a "permaLink" at Blog Spot.com which will link to a page. It is a URL that will never change edit area of BlogSpot.com


 * 4. In your opinion, would staff at any Family History Centers have ideas, time, or desire to contribute to the Wiki?

Some would be interested, depends upon the person.

Summary of Yammer
FS Wiki Contributors group.

Not done for this week, due to our Family History Center guests. Will do 2 weeks worth next meeting.

Governance Council Report

 * Items to pose to Governance Council

Community Council Report

 * Items to pose to Community Council

Discussions and Proposals Follow-up
To access this table click here

News to be publicized
To access this table click here.

Meeting Notes/Minutes

 * please post below this header