Update on FamilySearch Indexing 2010

FamilySearch sponsored lecture at the Escondido, California Family History Fair, 2010 given by David E. Rencher, CGO, AGCM (Ireland), CGSM , FUGA , FIGRS



Introduction


FamilySearch Indexing is probably our most successful program to date. Since its inception, the Internet version of this new program has seen over 268,000 indexers volunteer to index records. During 2007, the year FamilySearch Indexing was launched; over 95 million records were indexed via the Internet. We anticipated that number to grow substantially during the next few years, and in 2009, the number of records increased to over 500 million. The skills needed the most right now are for the International languages and paleography.

FamilySearch Indexing allows users to index from their homes without all of the administrative tasks normally associated with indexing. Indexers can choose from a variety of projects of their choosing, see online helps with each field of data, choose from authority sets tailored to each project and know that their work will be validated by a second set of indexing and an arbitrator to look at any differences between indexers. Accuracy rates at this point range are very high when compared with the original records.

Computer Recommendations
To use the FamilySearch Indexing software, the following requirements are needed:


 * Computer Type: PC or compatible
 * Operating System: Windows® XP/Home or Professional
 * Browser: Internet Explorer® 6.0.2 SP2 or above or Mozilla Firefox® 1.5.0.7 or above
 * Computer Speed: Pentium® IV or above
 * Internal Memory: 512MB or greater
 * Connection Speed: Broadband high-speed Internet (recommended: DSL, Cable, or Satellite)
 * Note: It is possible to run FamilySearch indexing on computers with lesser configurations. However, you may notice a delay when moving between images or downloading or submitting batches.

Top 25 Indexing Projects for 2009


The FamilySearch indexing application is available in three new languages: Italian, Portuguese, and Russian. These languages are in addition to English, French, German, and Spanish. We have current indexing projects in all of these languages except Portuguese. We will be introducing a Portuguese project in the near future.

Volunteers can help with any of the projects of interest by registering or logging in at FamilySearchIndexing.org.

Recently Completed Projects
(Note: Recently completed projects have been removed from the available online indexing batches and will now go through a final completion check process in preparation for future publication.)