Adventures in FamilySearch Indexing - Week 39

Well again, no New York projects to work on. In fact I didn't notice any new projects to work on. It also seems like the Irish vital records have been around for a long time. I wonder if the Irish records have to be done before they will get me the New York records? I sure hope people aren't loosing interest in indexing. With spring here you sure don't like to be cooped up inside.

Yeah, I know about being stuck inside! All this past weekend I was home sick in bed. On Sunday I actually slept all night and day until 6pm that evening. Thats a long time sleeping. At 9:30pm I was back to bed again. I guess you can tell I wasn't up to indexing Sunday - but I was today. I decided to actually time myself and it took 62 minutes to index 211 names on the Irish Death Indexes 1945-1958. I got credit for indexing 250 records but I call it close enough. To date I have indexed 6486 records. It sure felt good to do some indexing today.

It was time for Headquarters to give us some news and we have two messages from them this week.

From: Headquarters
Subject: Ask a Question
Date: 15 Apr 2008

To all indexers and arbitrators:

• Another tip for Irish indexers: When there was a year recorded in parentheses after the given name, index that number in the Year field for that record. Remember to index the year from the top of the page again for the next record.
  

• Please remember that each project has its own set of instructions. Reading these instructions before working on a batch from an unfamiliar project will make your indexing (and arbitrating) life much easier. To review these instructions, at the top of the data entry area, click the Project Information tab. Then click Indexing Project Homepage. Or you can view these instructions online at www.familysearchindexing.org. Click the Projects tab at the top of the page. Click the name of a project to view the instructions for that project.
  

• There are many instructive items available on the Publications page; including instructional guides and Family Record Extraction memorandums which contain more news and tips regarding FamilySearch indexing and Universal Data Entry (UDE). To find the Publications page:

1. Go to www.familysearchindexing.org in your Internet browser.
2. Click the Help tab.
3. Click the Publications link near the top of the page.
   

I actually needed the tip for the Irish records this week. I had two people on my batch with a different year next to their names. I was a good girl and made the change to reflect the right year. Here is the second message from headquarters.

From: Headquarters
Subject: Ask a Question
Date: 18 Apr 2008

TO ALL INDEXERS:

We are excited to announce the new Ask a Question feature on the FamilySearch indexing Web site! With the newest update to the system, the Ask a Question box was added to the Help tab. This will give indexers, arbitrators, group administrators, and stake extraction directors an additional way to have their questions answered.

To find the Ask a Question box, do the following:

1. Go to the FamilySearch indexing home page, www.familysearchindexing.org.
2. Click the Help tab.
3. Click the Ask a Question link near the top of the page.
   

Type your question about FamilySearch indexing in the space provided and click the Ask button. Refer to the tips and examples on the Ask a Question page for guidance and suggestions.

***There is one specific tip we would like to point out. If you type in the name of a project you will find a link to an article specifically dealing with that project - including questions and answers about specific situations that have come up, with example images and other tips and suggestions.

We hope you will make use of this new resource. We will continue to strive to make your time volunteering with indexing as enjoyable as possible.

I didn't have any need to ask a question this week but it's nice to know this other option is there. I don't have much else to tell you this week. It's been kind of slow around here with me not feeling to well. I have a ton of emails to get through. In fact I have 83 emails in my in box that need some type of reply or action. Nearly all are genealogy related. At least my project for my distant relative is completed. Just need to make my shareable CD in RootsMagic and send it off to her. I am glad thats done. I guess what I am trying to say is if you are waiting for an email reply from me I promise I will get to it shortly. Hopefully my spring fever is over and I can get back into a better routine.

See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!