More On The Ancestry Indexing Project

Always controversial, and sure to tell his opinion, is the Ancestry Insider. Here is his report on the new indexing project:


Details revealed about Ancestry.com Indexing Initiative
Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:05 AM CDT

Ancestry.com announced today additional details regarding the World Archives Project, their volunteer indexing initiative, including incentives for project participants.
I never know whether to cringe or be amused when people let irrational dislike for Ancestry.com lead them to irrational conclusions. One of my most thoughtful readers and active commenters once left this doozy.

[Ancestry.com indexers] pay to be subscribers and then work for them for free. Congrats to Ancestry for finding so many suckers.

Note my comment mainly has to do with indexing for Ancestry instead of for Family Search. At least FS will have a class of indexers who get access to images in return for their work. What do Ancestry indexers get? That's right. A pat on the back and next year's subscription bill with no discount.

Ancestry.com clarified today that
"All indexes will remain free to the public on Ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com will donate copies of record indexes and images from the project to partnering government archives and genealogy societies.

Images and indexes from the project will be available for free to patrons at thousands of subscribing libraries across the U.S.

Ancestry.com will provide free advertising to partnering genealogy societies. "

Further, active program contributors will receive the following benefits:

Vote on which records to index in the future.

Have fee access to original images in the project's databases.

Receive a 10% discount off an annual U.S. Deluxe subscription renewal or
Receive a 15% discount off an annual World Deluxe subscription renewal.

To be classified as an active contributor one must index a minimum of 900 records per quarter. As the term record is somewhat ambiguous, I'm not certain if this means 900 record batches, 900 names or something else.

The full text of the press release follows:
ANCESTRY.COM LAUNCHES GLOBAL PUBLIC INDEXING INITIATIVE AND
ANNOUNCES FIRST COLLABORATION WITH THE FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES
Ancestry.com Introduces the World Archives Project to Preserve and Provide Online Access to Historical Records
Philadelphia – Sept. 4, 2008 – Ancestry.com, the world's largest online family history resource, today launched the World Archives Project, a global public indexing initiative designed to give individuals everywhere the opportunity to help preserve historical records. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) is the first organization to partner with Ancestry.com during this beta phase of this new venture, enlisting genealogists and family history enthusiasts to help test the software and prepare it for a more public release.

Now in public beta, the World Archives Project allows individuals to transcribe information from images of original historical records and to create indexes that will remain accessible for free on Ancestry.com and on Ancestry's localized sites in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, and Italy. Active contributors* will soon be able to access all original images that are part of the World Archives Project. Organizations can also partner with the World Archives Project and sponsor indexing projects. Ancestry.com will donate a digital copy of the sponsored index and images back to partnering organizations.

"As a global society, we are falling further and further behind when it comes to digitizing historical records," said Tim Sullivan, president and CEO of The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com. "The World Archives Project allows us to work collectively as a community to preserve and to digitize records that will otherwise surely be lost to the wear and tear of time. By providing free access to these indexes on the world's most popular family history website, we will provide millions of people with access to records that might help them unlock new clues about their ancestors."

Already, several thousand individuals have joined the World Archives Project private beta, indexing Wisconsin Mortality Schedules and Nebraska State Censuses. Participants provided feedback and recommendations for this public beta release.

"We are thrilled to be a part of this cause and to help spread the world about this new initiative," said Wendy Elliott-Scheinberg, president of FGS. "The World Archives Project is a great way for enthusiasts and genealogical societies to directly impact and further family history research."
"FGS has been enormously helpful in the development of our vision for the World Archives Project," said Sullivan. "The 500+ genealogy societies that FGS represents are absolutely critical to the continued health and growth of genealogical research. We've been searching for years for the right way to partner with genealogy societies, and we think this project will allow us to help them attract new members by leveraging the popularity of Ancestry.com. We appreciate the encouragement and support FGS provides and look forward to continuing our relationship as this project marches forward."

For more information about the World Archives Project or to get involved, visit www.ancestry.com/worldarchivesproject.

*Specific guidelines must be met to be considered an active contributor. For more information, visit http://landing.ancestry.com/wap/learnmore.aspx.

About Ancestry.com
With 26,000 searchable databases and titles and nearly 3 million active users, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including http://www.myfamily.com/, http://www.rootsweb.com/, http://www.genealogy.com/ and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive nearly 7.5 million unique visitors worldwide (© comScore Media Metrix, July 2008). To easily begin researching your family history, visit http://www.ancestry.com/.

About FGS
The Federation of Genealogical Societies links the genealogical community by serving the needs of its member societies, providing products and services needed by member societies, and marshaling the resources of its member organizations. FGS was founded in 1976 and represents the members of more than 500 genealogical societies. FGS links the genealogical community by helping genealogical societies strengthen and grow. To do this, FGS publishes FORUM magazine, filled with articles pertaining to society management and genealogical news. FGS also publishes an extensive series of Society Strategy Papers, covering topics about effectively operating a genealogical society.

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Okay, folks, let me add a comment here: The Ol' Mountain Genealogist is a regular volunteer with Family Search, Find A Grave, Unclaimed Persons, and many other organizations. When we help to contribute to the online data we are not only providing research material for someone else, but I believe in the premise of plain old helping one another. And this country needs that.

I believe in the Golden Rule. And believe me, there have been many wonderful and kind genealogists who have assisted me since I began this journey, and who still do! And every once in awhile someone totally new to the idea of genealogy helps me more than I can ever say! Thanks to Mandy, in GA, who re-enthused me for my own family work! And to Sarah, in PA, who is ever inquisitive. And to the scores of others, who make this job one of the most exciting, thrilling, and self-fulfilling positions I have ever had.

Volunteering, there's just no other way about it, is good for your spirit!

I encourage you to get involved. Much like voting in the upcoming elections this fall, you can't have a say in my book, unless you actually do something about it!!!

Cheers to all the volunteers out there!
cbh