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| This is my grandma - she's adorable. |
I'm busy too, so when I hear about doing family history research I just want to crawl into the fetal position and figure out if the guilt of not doing it will win over the inability to find the time to research.
But never fear - there is a way to aid in the family history research efforts that doesn't take a lot of time, and it's called INDEXING.
Currently Family Search has a program that you can download on your computer and get batches of digital pictures that need all the information entered to become searchable in their data base. This is what indexing is. It's really simple to use and can be completed quickly.
But it's going to get even easier.
Coming this year (projected to be released in August) Family Search is going to integrate their program right into their website. So all you need is an internet connection, and you can access records to index ANYWHERE.
The platform of the program will be really similar to their current program, just more easily accessed. It will have some amazing new features to make the indexing easier and more personal with layout options, batch suggestions, social media connections, and belonging to multiple indexing groups. Family Search is working on making the records more demographically searchable - so if you want to focus on a certain area or project you'll have the ability to find those records.
My favorite thing about having the indexing software integrated in the website is that I can do it on my tablet. So, say I have to wait for 5 minutes at the Dr's office, I can hop on the free wifi and do something worthwhile. I can be doing Family History work and shrink my genealogy guilt at the same time.
It's going to be awesome.
It's also important.
With as many records that Family Search has to index, it would take the current level of indexing volunteers 300 years to complete. Which is a really long time. To remedy this, they will be sharing their records with other sites like Ancestry, Find My Past, and My Heritage. This will get even more people to volunteer to help. And with this partnering, and our volunteer hours, we can cut that 300 years to a single generation. Which is amazing.
So, just because your busy, don't feel guilty about not doing family history research. Help others with their research by indexing in your spare moments. It's easy, pretty fun, and 100% worth the effort.
Here's a cute little video from Family Search that tells all about indexing:
