For almost two years I have served as a volunteer for Family Search doing "indexing" which means I look at a digital copy of an original record and then "transcribe" the information onto an online form which is then used to make "indexes" for people to use in research.
The reason why I decided to volunteer as an indexer is because I have been grateful that I have been the recipient for so many years of records that others have "indexed" for me and others to use and decided it was my turn to be a "Giver." Without their efforts, I wouldn't have been able to obtain so much information and in such an easily accessible manner. Either records were not available or the microfilms had to be ordered and then searched. With indexing efforts, it takes just moments to do a search!
At this season of the year, as we think of giving, I decided that it would be appropriate to share my gratitude as a recipient of family history records by reciprocating and making records available for others by doing indexing. I plan to continue to do this volunteer work and find great satisfaction in providing a way for others to find records of their ancestors.
Over the past two years, I have indexed a variety of records: Oklahoma school records, marriage records, World War I and II records, veteran's burial records, obituaries, etc. for different parts of the United States and for different time periods. It has been an interesting endeavor!
Anyone can do indexing. Just go to this website: https://familysearch.org/indexing/get-started-indexer#/desktop and GET STARTED!
Background of Family Search Indexing Project:
Since 1921, indexing has been essential to making records available, but in the last 7 years, the digital revolution has made it easier for everyone everywhere to participate.
FamilySearch indexing is a volunteer transcription effort that makes valuable genealogical records freely searchable online. Since FamilySearch indexing began in 2006, this unprecedented crowd sourcing effort has produced more than one billion searchable records.
Hundreds of thousands of volunteer indexers have participated from around the world. Through this selfless effort, millions of people worldwide have found information and discovered stories about their ancestors.
More about Indexing
The project aims to create searchable digital indexes for scanned images of historical documents.The documents are drawn primarily from a collection of over a billion photographic images of historical documents from 110 countries and principalities. They include census records, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, military and property records, and other vital records maintained by local, state, and national governments. However, to access the billions of names that appear on these images, indexes are needed to be able to search them efficiently.
Volunteers install proprietary software available at no cost on their home computers, download images
from the site, type the data they read from the image via the software, and submit their work back to the
site. The data is eventually made publicly and freely available at Family History Centers or at
the FamilySearch website for use in genealogical and family history research. FamilySearch anticipates
that the number of names and associated genealogical data indexed is expected to accelerate as more
people volunteer to index.
