NFS Public Release Begins

“In February 2011, we’ve invited a limited number of public users to begin testing public access to the new FamilySearch [Family Tree] website,” disclosed FamilySearch. “These valued testers will help us make sure the system can handle the increased load.” Don’t bother begging; FamilySearch has already selected the testers.

The mid-quarterly release of the New FamilySearch Tree (NFS) last week brought this positive news to members of the public waiting for access. Alert Insider reader, J.O., alerted me to the announcement.

The title of the document, “What’s New in the New FamilySearch Website,” deserves some razzing. Technically, new.familysearch.org is no longer the newest FamilySearch website. The new FamilySearch website is www.familysearch.org. The document should be titled “What’s New in the New.FamilySearch.org Website.” If you insist that the February release makes it “new,” then I would expect the document title to be: “What’s New in the New New.FamilySearch.org website.” But I digress…

All Addresses and Phone Numbers Hidden

FamilySearch reset all user preferences to hide addresses and phone numbers. I suppose this was done for those users that did not realize that the information would one day be visible to anyone. Users who desire to make their addresses or phone numbers visible need to click “Update My Profile and Preferences” on the home page and set the preferences as desired.

Visibility of e-mail addresses was not changed.

Adapting to a Public System

In preparation for release to the general public, FamilySearch has adapted NFS to comply with policies of its sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Information about ceremonies performed in Church temples will be available only to Church members. Members should not discuss temple ordinances in discussion groups.

“Do not use the system to proselyte,” said FamilySearch. “Be courteous and inclusive.” (The counsel to be inclusive echoes that of Church leader, M. Russell Ballard, in a talk titled the “Doctrine of Inclusion.” But I digress…)

Differences Faced by the General Public

The general public will have a slightly different user experience than members of the Church. NFS automatically started building a tree for Church members by pulling information from the user’s Church records. If subsequent generations were members, a new user’s tree might be populated for several generations.

Members of the general public will need to enter the most basic of information about themselves and living ancestors, including their own gender. Then they will begin the painful process of identifying what ancestors can be added to the tree via GEDCOM, and which must be linked to existing tree residents.

You few—you lucky few—can then complain with us, what woes we experience in NFS this day.

    He that outlives NFS, and his data comes safe to SCOE 
    (the future version of NFS with all the kinks worked out),
    Will stand a tip-toe when NFS gets a real name,
    And rouse him at the old name, ‘NFS.’
    He that shall live through NFS this day, and see SCOE in old age,
    Will yearly at NGS feast his friends, and say, ‘I used NFS.’
    Then will he strip his pedigree and show his scars,
    And say 'These wounds I had in NFS.’
    Old genealogists forget; yet he’ll remember, with advantages,
    What feats he accomplishes in NFS this day. Then shall we
    Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
    This story shall the old genealogist teach the young;
    And NGS shall ne'er go by,
    From this day to the ending of the world,
    But we in it shall be remembered.

    And genealogists now-a-desktop
    Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not using NFS,
    And hold their genealihoods cheap whiles any speaks
    That fought with us in NFS this day.

Dating 19th Century Photographs

Image: Phototree.com
Ambrotype, ca. 1861

I have an old photograph. According to the name on the back, it is my great grandfather, Samuel Frost Insider. But it is really old and I’ve held out hope that it was his father, John McCormick N’Sider.

Today I learned how to date the photograph. I attended Gary Clark’s class, “19th Century Cased Images & Tintypes: Discovering the Picture’s Date.” Clark is a professional photographer, photo restorer, and the author of an upcoming book on dating 19th century photographs.

We usually think of identifying photographs using clues in the photograph: clothes, personal style, studio setting, and props.

Clark said that other characteristics need to be considered as well. You should determine whether the photograph is a daguerreotype, ambrotype, or tintype. Also consider the size. The photograph packaging provides additional clues. Packaging may include case, plate, mat, glass, and preserver.

I appreciated everything I learned except for one thing. Applying my new-found learning, I dated my tintype to around 1890, too recent to be my great-great-grandfather.

Rats!

 

Some of what Clark taught can be found on his website, www.PhotoTree.com.

Never Drink Downstream from the Cows

“Never drink downstream from the cows,” said Glenn Rawson in the keynote session of the St. George Family History Expo. “The same principle still applies to historical research.” Rawson said that to connect with history, we need to go to the original documents. When he first started producing television shows about history he had to delve into what he considered nothing more than “dusty old books.”

“You grab ahold of those old documents and suddenly you are connected,” Rawson said. “To know that I was holding something that [historical people] held and wrote—they were no longer dusty old records.”

“There are a couple of things that bring you a sense of history,” he said. “[Another] is to go to the place.” He related the story of following the route taken by the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican-American War. The journey took him to the old Catholic mission of San Luis Rey. He had flipped through the pages of the journal of battalion member, Levi Hancock, and found a sketch of the old mission.

“We stood exactly where Levi stood and saw the same thing that Levi saw.” He said it was an amazing experience, as though 1846 had jumped forward to the present.

“If you want to connect to history, read the original documents—the dusty old books.”

 

Rawson is the producer, writer, and host of “The Joseph Smith Papers” and “History of the Saints.”

“Genealogy at a Glance” Reviews

I imagine Genealogical Publishing Company (GPC) has made a lot of money selling Elizabeth Shown Mills 4 page, laminated citation guides. Their “Genealogy at a Glance” series appears to be an attempt to capitalize on this format. GPC recently sent me two of the three guides in the series, Scottish Genealogy Research by David Dobson and French-Canadian Genealogy Research by Denise R. Larson.

They describe the guides this way (underline added):

Designed to cover the basic elements of genealogical research in just four pages, the “Genealogy at a Glance” series attempts to give you as much useful information in the space allotted as you’ll ever need. In less than a handful of pages (specially laminated for heavy use) it provides an overview of the facts you need to know in order to begin and proceed successfully with your research, allowing you to grasp the basics of research at a glance.

The underlined text immediately jumped off the brochure as marketing doublespeak. I could hear the booming voice of the announcer, “As much useful information as you’ll ever need!” Followed by the fast-talking, soft spoken disclaimer, “in the space allotted.”

Four pages “to begin and proceed successfully” doing Scottish or French-Canadian research? I don’t think so. Plugging in my computer required a poster four times this size. Putting together my bookshelf took sixteen pages.

Neither were laminated. They didn’t need to be. Once the computer was plugged in, I tossed the Getting Started.

I think four laminated pages is a great format for a continuously used, “at a glance,” reference guides. But I question if this format adequately communicates “the facts you need to know in order to begin and proceed successfully.”

The Content

I’m not qualified to review Scottish or French-Canadian research, so I asked two friends for help. The reviews were mixed: thumbs up for one of the guides, thumbs down for the other.

My only contribution was noting that the “Quick Facts” section consuming a fourth of the front page of both guides was a big waste of very precious space. Knowing the number of people in the 2000 U.S. census with Scottish or French-Canadian ancestry might have been an important fact for GPC decision makers projecting how well these guides would sell. It hardly helps you “begin and proceed successfully with your research.”

On to the good news and the bad news…

Which do you want first?

The Bad News

My French-Canadian reviewer thought it sad that he had to give a bad review on something that Denise R. Larson had obviously put so much thought, work, and effort into. He thought that if Genealogical Publishing had performed a peer review of this piece, it could have been so much more.

He thought the information was very much dated, perhaps as much as ten years behind the times. He thought the websites mentioned were generics instead of the ones you really need: Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org (with new online collections), www.bms2000.org, and www.fichierorigine.com.

Larson also failed to direct her audience to the most important records. Church records were mentioned, but not highlighted. She barely mentioned the University of Montreal and the PRDH. The information about the Drouin collection failed to mention online availability.

Sad that he couldn’t recommend it, my friend was nevertheless adamant that this guide is not useful to an experienced researcher and is totally inappropriate for a new one.

Genealogy at a Glance: French-Canadian Genealogy Research 8.5" x 11", 4 pp., folded and laminated. 2011. ISBN 978-0-8063-1874-5 Genealogical Publishing Company 1-800-296-6687, www.genealogical.com $7.95 (list)

 

The Good News

My Scottish reviewer told me he already owns quite a few of David Dobson’s immigration books. Dobson is the name in Scottish immigration. Dobson has scoured many government records and is unquestionably the expert. My friend said the important www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk and OPR records were covered well.

He thought the author had overlooked Ancestry (somewhat hidden on the first page) and Find My Past. And he thought Dobson should have mentioned the availability of most of these records on FamilySearch microfilm.

My friend didn’t think the guide was a research strategy, but a reference to the best sources for Scottish research. He liked Scottish Genealogy Research so much, he asked me where he could get a copy for himself. That is a definite thumbs up.

Genealogy at a Glance: Scottish Genealogy Research 8.5" x 11", 4 pp., folded and laminated. 2011. ISBN 978-0-8063-1873-8 Genealogical Publishing Company 1-800-296-6687, www.genealogical.com $7.95 (list)

RootsTech Ketchup

Don’t tell me that wasn’t big fun! I still have a big stack of RootsTech stories I wanted to do. But the party’s over and I need to turn my attention to the St. George Family History Expo this weekend, 25-26 February 2011.

Time to ketchup…

FHCs get Ancestry FHL Edition

Family History Centers now have access to the Ancestry Family History Library Edition, which I believe has all the genealogy databases as the full Ancestry.com offering.

It has been widely miscommunicated that centers have access to the Ancestry Library Edition. I had reported the same thing, but when I got a chance to try it for myself, I found it to be the Family History Library Edition.

The Ancestry Library Edition is marketed and distributed by ProQuest. Because ProQuest charges separately for some content in the normal Ancestry.com subscription, Ancestry.com and ProQuest leave those databases out of the Library Edition. These include some newspapers, some obituaries, some books, PILI, BGMI, and PERSI. Ancestry.com also leaves out most tree-based databases.

I double-checked and all of these are available in family history centers with the Ancestry Family History Library Edition.

FamilySearch Consultant Website

FamilySearch has posted the slide presentations of the RootsTech family history consultant training on a newly redesigned consultant website. Check it out at consultant.familysearch.org . I assume this is where the Elder Scott Devotional will be posted.

FamilySearch Combining Websites

In 2010 FamilySearch combined its websites for records, library, wiki, and indexing. In 2011 they will add their digital books, forums, and family tree databases, according to Jim Erickson, FamilySearch spokesperson.

FamilySearch is also adding online microfilm ordering, as I’ve mentioned before.

Family Tech

Family Tech is a new set of articles for beginners, said Erickson. Several of the bloggers present have already contributed articles. See http://familytech.familysearch.org.

Content War

“The content war is over” said Josh Taylor of NEHGS. “Everyone is going to have everything.”

Acquisition Wars

The hiring war, on the other hand, is not. Lynn Monson, formerly lead technical architect at FamilySearch, is now at Ancestry.com according to a FamilySearch presenter.

Dan Lawyer, formerly one of my favorite FamilySearch product managers, showed up in FamilyLink attire. I don’t mean to say he’s no longer one of my favorite people. (Dan, I’ll get around to that LinkedIn endorsement real soon now.)

FamilyLink also announced the integration of their We’re Related Facebook app with the forthcoming genealogy game, Family Village. In appearance like FarmVille or CityVille, Family Village allows game players to build a village by learning about their ancestors. Pictured to the right is Sally Sleuth, your Family Village guide.

Real-Time Collaboration, Inc. makers of SharingTime announced the acquisition of Ohana Software. Ohana Software was founded by John Vilburn, who created the wildly successful PAFInsight, a tool to update a PAF file with data scraped from FamilySearch’s IGI. Ohana followed the success of PAFInsight with Family Insight, which synchronizes data between PAF and the new FamilySearch Tree.

Ancestry iPhone App

“We get asked about doing a version for Android,” said Kendell Hulet. “It is not a question of if but when.” Hulet is a senior director of platform product management at Ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com is working on shaking leaf and auto-syncing your tree between Ancestry iPhone and online member trees.

To merge two member trees, download the trees to FTM, merge them, upload the merged tree, and delete the first two. (Audience members suggested this procedure might cause data loss.)

Don’t Reveal the Insider’s Secret Identity!

Doubtlessly you know that it is extremely bad to post pictures revealing the secret identity of the Ancestry Insider. That point became useful when it came time to point out some of the good articles written about RootsTech. I don’t want to skip any worth mentioning and I don’t want to offend anyone.

The solution? I’ve decided to highlight the articles of bloggers that protected my secret identity:

• Dear, dear Myrtle snuck a photograph of me, but managed to protect my identity. Check out her RootsTech coverage.
• Joan Miller of the Luxegen Genealogy Blog caught a safe photograph of me at the media hub. I’m the one sitting to Myrtle’s left, directly across from Thomas MacEntee. Check out Joan's and Thomas’s RootsTech articles.
• There’s an obstructed view of me in this very technical video, sitting in the audience listening to Amos Elliston, CTO at Geni. Check out more of Geni’s RootsTech posts.
• Banai Feldstein, the Ginger Jewish Genealogist,  managed to photograph my backpack without me in the photo. She’s posted several RootsTech articles.
• LDS.org gave me the closing quote in their RootsTech piece (Mom will be so proud) without disclosing my name.

 Ancestry Insider Moderated Two Sessions

Did you know I moderated two RootsTech sessions? It was a definite ego deflator when Doug Blank of Gramps Genealogy Research Software (in a very technical article) gave my first session a dismal review.

The video of Amos Elliston, mentioned above, is from that same session.

In my other session, FamilySearch CTO, Tom Creighton, disclosed that FamilySearch is working on something that could replace GEDCOM. For more information see the report by Jordan Jones  of GenealogyMedia.com. The discussion also produced a list of issues that genealogical standards could address. In the FamilySearch Wiki, see “Genealogical Data Standards (RootsTech Session).”

Out of time…

See you at the St. George Family History Expo!

Monday Mailbox: Bulk Merge

Dear Ancestry Insider,

I am very frustrated, and think you might be in a position to help, at least understand the problem.

The Church [of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] has digitized and indexed millions of records which is a wonderful thing.

What is not so wonderful is that these names are being bulk merged by computer to existing family lines and more often than not, fouling them up.  I am suddenly finding names attached to my family lines that are in a completely different geographical area than where my family lived, and with dates and other information that is clearly not theirs.

My concern is that information cannot and should not be merged by computer.  I have worked hard and carefully, paying attention to sources etc. and now to have my data corrupted by computer merges is very unsettling.

I wonder if those who okayed this merging are aware of the problems it is causing. I would be very interested in your opinion, since I know you understand both technology and genealogy.  I enjoy reading your blog, and am a fan.

Suzanne Johnston

Dear Suzanne,

Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy it.

I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is the bulk merging ceased when the new FamilySearch Tree rollout began.

FamilySearch seeded the tree with bad data, some from computer merging, some from human error. The ground-breaking, evidence-centric design of the Tree was totally inadequate for dealing with the glutton of pre-loaded bad evidence. FamilySearch had to do something.

They opted to keep the bad data and replace the system.

For many months FamilySearch has gradually been replacing the system with a standard, source-centric design. Once the replacement is complete, users will be able to clean up the data. (Ironically, once clean, the old system would have been able to handle it.)

Now for the bad news.

If machines are not doing the bad merges, it is pretty clear who is. Once again we see evidence that genealogy is deceptively difficult.

-- The Insider

Legal Notice Update

I recently updated the legal notice about my website and articles. It is found at the bottom of the page at http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com:

The Ancestry Insider is written independently of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.

E-mails and posted messages may be republished and may be edited for content, length, and editorial style.

Products and services reviewed herein may be biased by the following factors: 1) The Ancestry Insider accepts products and services free of charge for review purposes. 2) The author of the Ancestry Insider is employed by the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, owner and sponsor of FamilySearch. 3) The author is a believing, practicing member of the same Church. 4) The author is a former stock-holder and employee of the business now known as Ancestry.com and maintains many friendships established while employed there. 5) It is the editorial policy of this column to be generally supportive of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.

"Ancestry Insider" does not refer to Ancestry.com. Trademarks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Ancestry Insider is solely responsible for any silly, comical, or satirical trademark parodies presented as such herein.

All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. For content copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider, permission is granted for non-commercial republication as long as you give credit and you link back to the original.

If you prefer small print

The Ancestry Insider is written independently of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. E-mails and posted messages may be republished and may be edited for content, length, and editorial style. Products and services reviewed herein may be biased by the following factors: 1) The Ancestry Insider accepts products and services free of charge for review purposes. 2) The author of the Ancestry Insider is employed by the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, owner and sponsor of FamilySearch. 3) The author is a believing, practicing member of the same Church. 4) The author is a former stock-holder and employee of the business now known as Ancestry.com and maintains many friendships established while employed there. 5) It is the editorial policy of this column to be generally supportive of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. "Ancestry Insider" does not refer to Ancestry.com. Trademarks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Ancestry Insider is solely responsible for any silly, comical, or satirical trademark parodies presented as such herein. All content is copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider unless designated otherwise. For content copyrighted by the Ancestry Insider, permission is granted for non-commercial republication as long as you give credit and you link back to the original.

RootsTech: Future Directions in Search

These are my notes from the session “Future Directions in Search,” by Ian Tester, a product manager at findmypast.co.uk, a brightsolid website.

As an aside, Tester mentioned that Find My Past will shortly be adding records from Ireland.

Ian Tester of Find My Past said the input to a search is a little bit of information about an ancestor, and the output is an ancestor. (Wrong, Ian. The output of a genealogy search is not a person, but a record. You’re committing the mistake that I’ve so often criticized in this space. Genealogy is deceptively complex. Sources, information, and evidence are distinctly different than conclusions, ancestors, and trees. The family history community badly needs tree management applications that include evidence management. But I digress…)

The 1901censusonline search form has lots of search fields that have no meaning to foreigners and some of little meaning to Englishmen, said Tester. This could be simplified to who, where, when, what, and with whom.

“It’s not just about having three fields instead of 20,” he said. Users need better, more intuitive ways of specifying who, where, and when. Why did the GRO stop recording middle names, then start again? The search experience should adjust to user input accordingly.

Find My Past is doing experiments on identifying connections between records, such as matching the bride and groom in marriage records. It will give you the likelihood that a couple is a match.

Another possibility is matching of family groups between censuses using algorithmic rules. Tester said they worked with genealogists talking to developers to teach computers to think like family historians. “Although we were doing it as an experiment, we were amazed at the efficiency that the machines could do.”

“You don’t want to return results so exactly that you eliminate the serendipitous result.” (Ian, I think there is room for both. That is why the user should be able to choose between exact and ranked results. Oops; I’ve digressed again.)

If you’re going to return matches from user submitted trees, you better be explicit about doing this and do it sensitively. (Ian, how right you are!)

A lot of what the industry has been doing Tester calls “digitize and dump.” “When you put data online you don’t have to leave it as static data,” said Tester. “You can nurture it and grow it. Use the power of your users—human intelligence—to improve the data.” (Ian, you are spot on.)

When Tester asked for questions, the first person didn’t ask a question, but made a list of suggestions. Ian loved it, saying they were super ideas.

That’s what RootsTech was all about.

RootsTech “An Amazing Accomplishment”

“Wildly successful. Loved every minute,” said Jay Verkler after the conclusion of the inaugural RootsTech Conference. Apparently attendees agreed; during the closing session audience members gave organizers a standing ovation. Verkler’s grand experiment to create synergy between genealogists, vendors, and technologists had been a big success.

“RootsTech 2011 was an amazing accomplishment,” wrote blogger Polly FitzGerald Kimmitt. “It's not about the technology, it's about how the technology draws us together.”

“It is a big mindset change,” said conference chair, Anne Roach, “from ‘coming to a conference’ to ‘coming to a conference where part of your responsibility is to give.’” I think you have it wrong, Anne. It was an easy change to go to a conference where I had the privilege to give—and take. The spirit of collaboration generated an energy level that was felt throughout the conference.

Roach said that inventing a new kind of conference and organizing it in a mere eight months had been a monumental challenge. Perhaps that is why she so willingly and constantly volunteered that she will not be chairing next year’s conference.

During Roach’s short, closing remarks she took some comic relief from funny suggestions gathered while naming the conference:

• Gu-Roots – this pun did not test well among either gurus or root-seekers.
• HeriTech – short for Heritage Technology, this suggestion was summarily rejected.
• GCon – the G stands for geeks and genealogists. To techies, con is readily understood to mean conference. But to genealogists, G and Con suggested FBI agents and con artists. To Anne personally, it suggested roach killer. :-)

Roach has been quick to acknowledge the contributions of others:

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this great event. It will be an experience that I will never forget.

I cannot claim credit for the success of RootsTech. The success belongs to the outstanding band of committee chairs and members who worked so hard to pull this off. The success belongs to the hundreds of volunteers who offered their time and talents to help support this event. The success belongs to the speakers who prepared and presented over a hundred innovative and collaborative classes.

And finally, the success belongs to each and every one of you who chose to participate in RootsTech 2011.

In my final interview with her, she gave final thoughts about this year’s conference and next year’s:

Of this year: “Amazing. Completely amazing.”

For next year: “I really look forward to participating… as a participant.”

 

RootsTech 2.0 will be held February 2-4, 2012, again at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

Richard G. Scott: Some of the Finest at RootsTech

“We have some of the finest organizations on earth represented and handling various aspects of this conference,” said Elder Richard G. Scott at RootsTech. “We feel honored to be part of that.” Scott is a high ranking leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

(Presumably, Scott is Jay Verkler’s boss’s boss, according to publicly available information.

While Verkler is the president and CEO of FamilySearch, his position at FamilySearch sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is managing director of the Family History Department.¹

The managing director reports to the executive director, Elder Richard J. Maynes.²

Presumably, Maynes reports to Scott, since Scott is the apostle that directs the Church’s Temple and Family History Executive Council.³

But I digress…)

Scott spoke at a devotional for Church family history consultants held during RootsTech. Unfortunately, I was moderating another session at the same time and was unable to attend. Here are some things I’ve gleaned from others:

• The session used a question and answer format. Elder Scott led a panel with Jay Verkler (CEO), David Rencher (CGO), Craig Miller (product management), and Ransom Love (strategic relationships). Jim Greene, a marketing manager at FamilySearch, gathered questions.
• I spoke to one attendee who was disappointed that the session, billed as a devotional, was more secular than religious. Perhaps next year organizers can set expectations better.
• Question topics included “technical improvements on FamilySearch, getting priesthood leaders involved in family history, and involving young adults.”³
• The new FamilySearch Family Tree will be improved this year, hopefully making it ready for the general public, according to James Tanner. The changes make the tree more evidence based, with sources attached and the ability to fix wrong information.⁴
• It may be ready for release near the end of the year, according to Paul Walworth on FHCNET.⁶
• Tanner also reported that FamilySearch was asked about Personal Ancestral File (PAF). FamilySearch will not improve PAF. Instead, they are working on the new FamilySearch Family Tree. Tanner put it more succinctly: “The answer essentially confirms the demise of PAF.”⁴
• FamilySearch is working on an updated standard to replace GEDCOM, said Tanner.⁴ Coincidentally, at the same time I was hearing the same message in the “Genealogical Data Standards” session. More on that later…
• FamilySearch will attempt to improve the rate at which digitized books are published online, said Tanner.⁴
• Providing Ancestry.com Library Edition access in family history centers is a test according to Shanna Jones on FHCNET. Users may not be able to use Ancestry.com at times because the number of simultaneous users is limited. After several months FamilySearch will evaluate the results.⁵ 
• Questions were also accepted from the audience. One came from Mormon Mommy Blogger, Elisa Scharton. Elisa, it was great to meet you!

James Tanner captured the answers to these questions on his blog:

• What will happen to Family History Centers outside the Wasatch Front?
• Explain the new Ancestry.com deal?
• What is the balance between involving everyone and being genealogically sound?
• Problems in library in Alexandria, Egypt?
• What about duplication?
• Is Personal Ancestral File going to talk to New FamilySearch?
• Is it OK to have a Millenium File?
• How can I inspire and motivate my Priesthood Leaders?
• How do we get people to come to the classes?
• GEDCOM standard issues?
• What about access to New FamilySearch to those who are not Church members?
• How do we get Young Single Adults interested in family history?
• Will this meeting be online?
• How has the use of the Internet affected the storage of records in the Granite Mountain Vault?
• Is there anyway we can have New FamilySearch without clicking on so many arrows?
• What new technology will have the most impact on family history in the near future?
• What about documentation in New FamilySearch for place names at the historical time?
• What about on demand digitization of microfilm?
• Duplication of work on New FamilySearch?

To see his answers, read “RootsTech—Devotional with Elder Richard G. Scott.” Thanks, James!

---

Sources

     1.  [Jay Verkler,] “Jay Verkler,” profile, LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jay-verkler/27/40a/bb4 : accessed 14 February 2011); also see conference programs where he has spoken, such as NGS 2010 and RootsTech 2011.
     2.  “Elder Richard J. Maynes,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, website (www.lds.org : accessed 14 February 2011), Menu > The Church > Organization > General Authorities; and Gordon Clarke, “Bay Area FH Conference : May 18, 2010,” PDF file, Silicon Valley Computer Genealogy Group (www.svpafug.org : accessed 14 February 2011), Free Downloads > FamilySearch Presentations, pp. 4-5.
     3.  “Family History Work Vital, Prophets and Apostles Say,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, website (www.lds.org : accessed 14 February 2011), Menu > Study > Prophets & Apostles Speak Today > Unto All the World.
     4.  James Tanner, “New Developments at FamilySearch,” Genealogy’s Star (http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com : dated 13 February 2011, accessed 14 February 2011).
     5.  Shanna Jones, “Ancestry.com: "Institutional" or "Library Edition"?” message in FHCNET group, Yahoo! Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET : 13 February 2011, 7:20 pm).
     6.  Paul Walworth, “Nfs Problems,” message in FHCNET group, Yahoo! Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET : 13 February 2011, 1:41 pm).

RootsTech Keynote Speaker Archiving and Preserving Everything

“The opportunity of our generation is to put information online,” said Brewster Kahle during his RootsTech keynote address. Kahle is the founder of the über-awesome Internet Archive and Open Library.

“Will our descendants know out story?” asked Kahle. We can take our personal “box-o-stuff” and preserve it. Images can be digitized for about 25 cents apiece. Super 8, 8, and 16 millimeter family movies cost about $200 per hour to digitize. Digitizing audio disks costs about $10 per disk and $10 per hour.

Kahle said that digitizing all published material and making it available online for the benefit of all mankind is within our grasp.

He said that the text in a book takes about one megabyte to store. That means the text of all 26 million books in the Library of Congress would fit in a shopping cart. Digitizing that much data is within our grasp, he said. Audio disks (about 2 to 3 million CDs, LPs, and 45s) and moving images (about 100,000 films) are also doable.

The Internet Archive is also working on more problematic content: television, software, and websites. “The average web page lasts only 100 days,” he said. Copies of many old websites, including all the defunct geocities website, can be found using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

Each day the Internet Archive scans 1,000 books and 200 microfilm and fiche. They have 23 scanning centers in six countries. They welcome volunteers and probably have a center near you.

One of the Internet Archive scanning centers is at the Egyptian Library of Alexandria. During the recent rioting, people circled the library hand-in-hand to protect it.

Kahle shared the news that during the recent demonstrations the
youth of Egypt had joined hand in hand to protect the Library of Alexandria.

To make texts available to people without web access, Internet Archive Bookmobiles are visiting schools, parks, and public places where public domain books can be printed and bound for a dollar. That is cheaper than a library’s cost to lend a book.

 
Eric Eldred with an Internet Archive bookmobile was kicked out of the Walden Pond 
Reservation by the Massachusetts state park service for giving away free copies of
Thoreau's public domain book, Walden. Rangers said it competed with their book shop.

The Internet Archive currently has over 2.5 million book and text items online. They have published images for all the U.S. census and New York immigration records.

“Part of the responsibility of our generation,” said Kahle, “is to put the best that we have to offer within reach of our children.”

Brewster Kahle is certainly doing his part.

RootsTech and the Changing Face of Genealogy

“I really think these are really the best of times for genealogy,” said Curt Witcher. “All of us really know the passion of finding family. And with technology we can tell that story better.” Introduced by “Timothy” Sullivan of Ancestry.com, Curt Witcher is the department manager for the Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

“Where are the most open, lit screens in the Allen County Public Library?” he asked. “You all will know. The genealogy section.” Technology is really affecting genealogy. Technology has resulted in many websites that enhance our experience as genealogists.

“I could spend all day listening to Story Corps,” he said of the compelling life histories to be found there.

Curt said more people with more varied backgrounds are using more powerful technology to do genealogy. It should come as no surprise New genealogists expect to use all the technologies they use elsewhere when they do genealogy. Young genealogists are likely to have a cell phone and expect the data to be available digitally. They approach genealogy in a totally new way.

“Genealogy is about the experience,” Witcher said. “At the end of the day it’s about fun and success.” He raised an eyebrow or two when he said you don’t even need an ancestry chart. You don’t need a chart to have a positive experience in genealogy.

Some of those experiences take place because of “data mashups.” People contribute data and other people tag it and link it to other data which leads on and on. For example, when an image of St. Patricks 8th Grade Safety Patrol, 1952-53 was posted online, it wasn’t very long before every person in the photograph had been identified.

The face of genealogy is changing, said Witcher. If we’re content with the way things used to be, we have a lot of unhappiness coming. He assured us, however, that if we can see changes as the improvement that they are, we can look forward to a future where we find records faster, find ancestors more often, and share life stories more frequently.

RootsTech Expo Hall is a Winner

The RootsTech conference goal of bringing together technology users and technology producers was nowhere more evident as in the Expo Hall.

“We want to merge the two and see if we can’t drive innovation in the genealogy world,” said Paul Nauta.

“We’re not sure if it’s going to work,” said Jay Verkler, “but if you think about technologists and genealogists, they’re both compulsive problem solvers.”

The Expo includes components directed to this end in addition to the usual trade show fodder: booths, vendors, brochures, candy, and t-shirts.

There are Collaboration Stations. Couches. Large monitors. “You can think of it as a nerd station,” explained Verkler. Paul Nauta explained, “Here you can sit down, put your screen on the overhead monitor and share with a group an informal discussion.”

There is a schedule for Unconference Sessions. What is unconferencing? Verkler explained it like this: “First of all, someone comes up with a bright idea and writes it on a [schedule] board. Someone else comes along and sees it and says, ‘That’s a great idea'.’” All those interested get together and have their own conference session.

There is the Media Hub for members of the press (including yours truly). Glass rooms for interviews. Video equipment. Power. Internet.

And there is a Cyber Cafe for everyone. Computers. High speed internet. Network connections. Printer.

There is the Microsoft Playground. Video games. Foosball. Pool. Massage equipment. “Think of it as a mental palette cleanser,” said Verkler.

There is a demo stage. “Look at the schedule there,” said Verkler. “There are lots of great demos going on.” See my previous article, “RootsTech for Free,” for the schedule.

How will the RootsTech experiment turn out? In the Expo hall, I give the cafe, playground, and demo area thumbs up. I will be surprised if unconferencing and collaboration stations are successful. For now, thumbs down.

If you’re going to provide members of the media great tools like glass enclosures and video equipment, why not provide tools for vendor/user focus groups? Rooms. One-way mirrors. Questionaire and polling stations. Conference sessions with voting buttons. Usability labs. Eye tracking. Mystery Shoppers. Exit interviews.

Want to form your own opinion? Stop by the Expo Hall if you’re in the Salt Lake area. It’s free and open to the public.

FamilySearch Technology Booth

“Technology can be used as an enabler and accelerator,” said Bruce Miller at the FamilySearch technology booth. FamilySearch is showing the technologies it uses to acquire, publish, and preserve historical record collections.

Larry Telford told us that FamilySearch has developed a new technology they called DCAM/X. DCAM/X is used with their digital cameras in the field. As important as it is to capture images of historical records, it is just as important to capture metadata about the records. Metadata is the information genealogists need to cite their sources and catalogers need to create catalog entries. FamilySearch has about 160 digital cameras on every continent (including Africa) and every major country. A camera operator can take about 450 to 600 images per hour. Weekly FamilySearch acquires a million images consuming 7 terabytes of storage, according to Paul Abbott.

FamilySearch has a committee that determines where to send the cameras, according to Telford. They consider where users’ ancestry reside, as well as what records are at risk. Miller said he is doing market research for the Content Strategy group to determine the records most needed and the treatment required. Miller is doing focus groups in Chicago, L.A., and Phoenix.

David Hardman showed a Digital Reading Room built on the Drupal content management system. It allows record custodians to view their records digitized by FamilySearch.

Scott Flinders reviewed the accomplishments of the past year and the goals for the coming year. He explained that they are designing a new system to deal with the throughput.

Jeffrey Crossley spoke about record preservation. FamilySearch uses hard drives and magnetic tape. Tape has proven to be one of the best long term storage mechanisms for digital data.

If you’re in the Salt Lake area, bring your family history photographs and documents down and FamilySearch will scan the documents for you. Your document images will be stored on the Internet and you will receive an e-mail with a link to them.

The FamilySearch Technology Booth is open to the public along with the rest of the RootsTech Expo Hall in the far North end of the Salt Palace Conference Center.

Jay Verkler Opens RootsTech Conference

  “Why would we have a technology conference related to genealogy?” asked Jay Verkler, “When friction and filtering is reduced between connections, innovation occurs.” Verkler spoke during the opening keynote session of the new RootsTech conference this morning. The conference brings together users and producers of technology. “We hope you’re picking up a view of what’s possible.”

One recent innovation in technology is the cloud. The cloud is big. I’m not talking about actual breadth, but importance. The cloud is much more than just the Internet. The cloud is a place where services and software reside: e-mail, word processors and our documents, genealogy documents and our trees, photo albums and more. That is the cloud.

“The new FamilySearch.org is built entirely in the cloud,” said Verkler. “It doesn’t use any of our own servers.” The implications are big, said Verkler.

“The conversation is shifting,” said Shane Robison. “Information is becoming the primary topic of conversation.” Robison, who also spoke during this morning’s keynote, is the executive vice president and chief strategy and technology officer for Hewlett–Packard Company.

It is incredible what is happening in technology, said Robison. By 2020 there will be 25 million apps, 4 billion people online, 31 billion connected devices, 1.3 terrabytes of tags and sensors, and 50 trillion gigabytes of data.

I have to agree.

RootsTech Conference Opens

The new RootsTech Conference inaugural opening is today, Thursday, 10 February 2011. Close to 3,000 attendees are expected to attend. Keynote addresses will be streamed complimentary at RootsTech.org, and Twitter users can follow real-time updates using #rootstech.

“When we first started, we thought we’d have 1,500 attendees,” said Jay Verkler. “We thought 2,000 was a stretch goal.” At a pre-conference media event Verkler, chief executive officer of FamilySearch, expressed optimism about the success of this new conference.

“The purpose of RootsTech is to encourage innovative technology solutions in the fields that have a bearing on genealogists,” said Verkler. Innovation can make it easier for people to find their ancestors, he explained.

“RootsTech grew out of an effort Brigham Young University began several years ago with its Conference on Computerized Family History and Genealogy,” said Paul Nauta, FamilySearch spokesperson. “BYU is now a key partner in this new conference.”

In addition to FamilySearch and BYU, other conference sponsors are Microsoft, Dell, Ancestry.com, brightsolid, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and the National Genealogical Society.

Yours truly will moderate two open discussion sessions. And I’ll report on the conference in the days to come. Maybe I’ll tweet, maybe I won’t.

Stay tuned…

Family History Centers Get Ancestry.com

After a week of rumors, FamilySearch announced Tuesday the return of Ancestry.com to family history centers.

In addition to Ancestry.com, the FHC portal gives family history centers free access to these premium websites:

• 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
• Alexander Street Press – The American Civil War
• Find My Past
• Footnote.com
• The Genealogist
• Genline Family Finder
• Godfrey Memorial Library
• Heritage Quest Online
• Historical Map Works Library Edition
• Paper Trail (from the Oregon-California Trails Association)
• World Vital Records

RootsTech for Free!

In Salt Lake or in your home town, there are parts of RootsTech that you can participate in for free.

A Few, Select Sessions Live and Free Online

Conference organizers have selected eight popular sessions to broadcast live and free on the Internet. These include all four keynote addresses. You can watch the live presentations at RootsTech.org.

10 Feb	Thursday Sessions
8:30-9:50 a.m.	A world of Information, Shane Robison, chief technology officer, Hewlett Packard
	Turning Roots, Branches, Trees into Nodes, Links, Graphs, Jay L. Verkler, chief executive officer, FamilySearch International
3-4:00 p.m.	Digitally Preserving Your Family Heritage, Barry Ewell, founder of MyGenShare.com
11 Feb	Friday Sessions
8:30-9:30 a.m.	The Changing Face of Genealogy, by Curt Witcher, manager of the Historical Genealogy Department, Allen County Public Library
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Cloud Computing: What is it and how it has been used to create the next familysearch.org, by Brian Pugh, senior engineer, FamilySearch International
12 Feb	Saturday Sessions
8:30-9:30 a.m.	Personal Archiving and Primary Documents, Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archives
1:45-2:45 p.m.	Virtual Presentations Round Table and Collaborative Panel Discussion, Thomas MacEntee, professional genealogist and technology specialist
3:00-4:00 p.m.	The Power of PDF: Tools for Every Genealogist ,  D. Josh Taylor, Director of Education and Programs at New England Historical Genealogical Society

All times are MST. 8:30 MST = 9:30 CST = 10:30 EST = 7:30 PST

Free Expo Hall

If you are in the Salt Lake area, you have got to take time to stop by. This is not your father’s expo hall. The RootsTech Community Zone Expo Hall is free. And it has it all:

• Vendor booths with the usual swag, candy, and special discounts. (I wonder if Gaylon Findley will repeat the incredible special deal he had last year for FamilySearch missionaries?)
• RootsTech Playground—Enjoy Xbox Kinect, massage chairs, air hockey, pool, ping-pong, and chess in the Playground sponsored by Microsoft.
• Cyber Café—Stay connected to your world with free internet access at the Cyber Café, sponsored by Dell.
• Family History Library Mini-Lab—Get personal help digging for your family roots at the Family History Library Mini-Lab.
• Demo Area—Munch on free popcorn and treats as you learn about the latest products and services in the Demo Area.
• Media Hub— Stop by the Media Hub to check out the RootsTech official bloggers and other media keeping tabs on the happenings at RootsTech.
• Collaboration Stations—Sit back, plug in, debate, and discuss at the Collaboration Stations.
• Give-aways throughout the day.

The Expo Hall is open

• Thursday: 10:00am to 5:00pm
• Friday: 9:30am to 5:00pm
• Saturday: 9:30am to 3:00pm

High Tech Demo Presentations

Every 30 minutes another mini-class/demo is taught in the High Tech Demo Area of the Expo Hall.

Event organizers seem to have learned a lesson from the 2010 NGS Conference, where the demo area occupied an entire exhibit hall but only two rows of seats were ever filled.

The Expo Hall map (above, right) appears to show only two rows of seats in the Demo Area. The map makes It look like there will be several comfy chairs there. I have got to check that out!

The current Demo schedule is

Thursday, 10 February 2011
10:30 am—10:50 am GeneTree: The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships A
11:00 am—11:20 am MyHeritage.com Mobile Applications for Family Photo Sharing
11:30 am—11:50 am RF Memorial Technology: Rosetta Stone Memorial Archiving
12:00 pm—12:20 pm Oracle Systems Solutions
12:30 pm—12:50 pm Family Search Software Community and 3rd Party Products
1:00 pm—1:20 pm Microsoft: Find, Better, Smarter, Faster, Easier
1:30 pm—1:50 pm brightsolid: Find My Past
2:00 pm—2:20 pm Ancestral Quest: Upgrading from PAF to Ancestral Quest
2:30 pm—2:50 pm Lifewood Data: Multilingual Handwriting Data Capture
3:00 pm—3:20 pm National Institute for Genealogical Studies: Distance Genealogical Education
3:30 pm—3:50 pm MagiKey Family Tree Demonstration
4:00 pm—4:20 pm GenerationStation, Inc: Online Future of Family History Preservation
4:30 pm—4:50 pm LifeStory Productions: New Ways to Organize and Share Family History

Friday 11 February 2011
10:00 am—10:20 am PhotoLoom: Hang Pictures on Your Family Tree
10:30 am—10:50 am FamilyLink’s Products and Services
11:00 am—11:20 am My Heritage: Enhanced Smart Matches and Social Networking Technologies
11:30 am—11:50 am One Great Family: Hands‐on Overview
12:00 pm—12:20 pm brightsolid: Genes Reunited
12:30 pm—12:50 pm Next Generation Software TNG: Starting Your Genealogy Web Site
1:00 pm—1:20 pm Legacy Family Tree and new FamilySearch
1:30 pm—1:50 pm Oracle Systems Solutions
2:00 pm—2:20 pm RootsMagic: Evidence Explained Source Templates
2:30 pm—2:50 pm Branches Genealogy: Graphics Approach to new FamilySearch
3:00 pm—3:20 pm Ready Micro: Low Cost, High Quality Microfilm Digitization
3:30 pm—3:50 pm FamilySearch Indexing
4:00 pm—4:20 pm Generation Maps: Family ChArtist—Beautiful Charts, Easy and Free
4:30 pm—4:50 pm Olson DataMax: Accessing and Preserving Information with iPac & PermiPac

Saturday 12 February 2011
10:00 am—10:20 am Family History Expos: Where Ol’ Dogs Learn New Tricks
10:30 am—10:50 am My Heritage: Family Tree Builder 5.0: What’s New in the Next Generation
11:00 am—11:20 am Using Flip‐Pal Mobile Scanner for Sharing Your Family History
11:30 am—11:50 am Legacy Family Tree and new FamilySearch
12:00 pm—12:20 pm Generation Maps Full Service Chart Printing
12:30 pm—12:50 pm FamilySearch: Moving the Classroom to the Internet
1:00 pm—1:20 pm SharingTime: Making New.FamilySearch Easier and More Efficient

If you get to the soft seats before I do, save me one!

RootsTech for Family History Consultants

Free training and a devotional with Elder Richard G. Scott are available for family history consultants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the RootsTech Conference this week. RootsTech starts this Thursday (February 10th) and runs through Saturday (February 12th) at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

Devotional. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will give a fireside talk on Saturday, 12 February 2011 at 11:00 AM. Registration is required to attend.

There are two training classes.

Consultant Training for 2011, Part I. “Family History Work, a Vital Resource in the Work of Salvation.” This class will discuss the newly released Leader’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work: To Turn the Hearts, as well as new approaches to involve the ward council.

Consultant Training for 2011, Part II. “Family History Centers and In-Person Assistance.” This will discuss the evolving role of family history centers and how to integrate them more in family history research. And, “Research Resources and Branching Out.” This goes over the latest developments in indexing, the research wiki, forums, and online training, and it discusses how these resources can best be utilized.

Keynote Session. As a special bonus, your consultant training registration includes free admittance to the conference keynote session on the day of your training classes.

Registration

You must register to attend either the training or the devotional.

1. Click here to register.
2. Select “FH Consultant Training Classes.”
3. Enter the Consultant code you received by email around January 25th.
4. Choose which day you will attend the training. (Select None if you are only attending the fireside.)
5. Indicate if you will attend the devotional with Elder Scott on Saturday. (If your spouse wishes to attend, he or she must register separately.)

When you arrive at the conference center, pick up your registration badge in the North Lobby. Check your conference schedule for changes from what I’ve published below.

Thursday Option (10 February 2011)

If you are registered to attend the RootsTech Conference and the consultant training, be aware that on this day only, training classes start at different times than RootsTech sessions.

Time (Thursday)	Session	Room
7:00 AM – 11:30 AM	Consultant check-in at the registration counter	North Lobby
8:30 AM – 9:50 AM	RootsTech Keynote Session. Shane R. Robison, Hewlett Packard – “A World of Information” Jay Verkler, FamilySearch International – “Turning Roots, Branches, Trees into Nodes, Links, Graphs”	Room 155
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM	Expo Hall admission is free. The hall features collaboration stations, a family history mini–lab, RootsTech playground, Bloggers World, high–tech product demos, free treats, and give-aways. Expo Hall Demo Area Schedule 10:30 am—10:50 am GeneTree: The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships	Exhibit Hall 1
11:00 AM – 12:00 noon	Consultant Training for 2011, Part I	Exhibit Hall 2
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM	Consultant Training for 2011, Part II	Exhibit Hall 2
1:30 PM – 5:00 PM	Expo Hall Demo Area Schedule 1:30 pm—1:50 pm brightsolid: Find My Past 2:00 pm—2:20 pm Upgrading from PAF to Ancestral Quest 2:30 pm—2:50 pm Lifewood: Data Multilingual Handwriting Data Capture 3:00 pm—3:20 pm National Institute for Genealogical Studies Distance Education 3:30 pm—3:50 pm The MagiKey Family Tree Demo 4:00 pm—4:20 pm GenerationStation, Inc: Online Future of Family History Preservation 4:30 pm—4:50 pm LifeStory Productions: New Ways to Organize and Share Family History	Exhibit Hall 1, Demo Area
9:00 AM – 11:00 PM	Family History Library extended hours	FHL
Saturday, 11:00 AM	Devotional with Elder Richard G. Scott	Room 155

 

Friday Option (11 February 2011)

 

Time (Friday)	Session	Room
8:00 AM – 11:00 AM	Check-in, pick up your badge at the registration counter	North Lobby
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM	RootsTech Keynote Session. Curt Witcher, Allen County Public Library – “The Changing Face of Genealogy”	Room 155
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM	Consultant Training for 2011, Part I	Exhibit Hall 2
11:00 AM – 12:00 Noon	Consultant Training for 2011, Part II	Exhibit Hall 2
12:00 Noon – 5:00 PM	Expo Hall Demo Area Schedule 12:00 pm—12:20 pm brightsolid Genes Reunited 12:30 pm—12:50 pm Next Generation Software TNG: Starting Your Genealogy Web Site 1:00 pm—1:20 pm Legacy Family Tree and new FamilySearch 1:30 pm—1:50 pm Oracle Systems Solutions 2:00 pm—2:20 pm RootsMagic: Evidence Explained Source Templates 2:30 pm—2:50 pm Branches Genealogy Graphics Approach to new FamilySearch 3:00 pm—3:20 pm Ready Micro Low Cost, High Quality Microfilm Digitization 3:30 pm—3:50 pm FamilySearch Indexing 4:00 pm—4:20 pm Generation Maps Family ChArtist—Beautiful Charts, Easy and Free 4:30 pm—4:50 pm Olson DataMax Accessing and Preserving Information with iPac & PermiPac	Exhibit Hall 1, Demo Area
9:30 AM – 5:00 PM	Expo Hall admission is free. The hall features collaboration stations, a family history mini–lab, RootsTech playground, Bloggers World, high–tech product demos, free treats, and give-aways.	Exhibit Hall 1
7:00 PM – Midnight	“Who Do You Think You Are” Viewing Party sponsored by Ancestry.com. (I don’t know for certain, but I think you can attend this party with your Friday registration. Tell them the Ancestry Insider gave you permission and we’ll find out what little weight I carry around town. :-)	FHL
Saturday, 11:00 AM	Devotional with Elder Richard G. Scott	Room 155

 

Saturday Option (12 February 2011)

 

Time (Saturday)	Session	Room
8:00 AM – 12:30 PM	Check-in, pick up your badge at the registration counter	North Lobby
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM	RootsTech Keynote Session. Brewster Kahle, The Internet Archive – “Personal Archiving and Primary Documents”	Room 155
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM	Consultant Training for 2011, Part I	Exhibit Hall 2
11:00 AM – 12:00 Noon	Devotional with Elder Richard G. Scott	Room 155
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM	Consultant Training for 2011, Part II	Exhibit Hall 2
9:30 AM – 3:00 PM	Expo Hall admission is free. The hall features collaboration stations, a family history mini–lab, RootsTech playground, Bloggers World, high–tech product demos, free treats, and give-aways.	Exhibit Hall 1

 

The published schedule for consultant training is available online. The conference program is as well.

RootsTech Conference Discount for Consultants

The consultant training registration, above, does not include attendance at any of the regular conference sessions. You can attend all the conference sessions at a discount of $75. That’s 50% off the regular price. Click here to register. Select “Regular Attendee” and enter the Offer Code you received by email.

 

Hope to see you there!

Super Indexing Sunday

Remember that today is Super Indexing Sunday! Join the rest of the genealogical community as we shatter the single day indexing record.

Top Ten Suggestions for Super Indexing Sunday:

10. Set your own indexing goal for the day.

9. Challenge your friends to an indexing bowl. Most names wins.

8. Host an indexing party.

7. Get comfy on the couch with eats and a laptop. TV optional.

6. Once your team is behind by 30, concentrate more on indexing than losing .

5. Index two names between each play and ten during each penalty.

4. Watch the game; index during the commercials.

3. Better yet, watch the commercials; index during the game.

2. Spike your mouse and do a victory dance after each batch.

1. If you break your own single day indexing record, dump Gatorade on your spouse.

It’s easy to get started.

1. Go to http://indexing.familysearch.org . Or go to FamilySearch.org and click on Indexing.
2. Then click on Get Started.

If you feel more comfortable indexing for Ancestry.com,

1. Click on Collaborate.
2. In the World Archives Project section, click on Get started now.

To learn more about Super Indexing Sunday:

• Read the National Genealogical Society announcement of this event
• Visit the Facebook Event page of organizer, Ken Sisler, an indexer from Canada
• FamilySearch thought it was such a fantastic idea, they set up a duplicate Facebook event
• Visit the official FamilySearch Indexing Facebook page