“In 30 minutes you can help people find their ancestors.” That’s the promise prominently displayed on the front page of the familysearchindexing.org Web site. Since the indexing program began, more than 150,000 people have volunteered to help make genealogical research easier for others, and thousands more are volunteering each month.
Family history indexing is the simple process of extracting names from digital images of historical documents and creating online searchable indexes from the previously gathered information. FamilySearch has provided a way for anyone with an Internet connection to assist in the monumental task of indexing genealogical records. The initiative is working, and rapidly expanding the number of records easily accessible.
The bulk of two and a half million rolls of microfilm, all housed in the Granite Mountain Record Vault near Salt Lake City, are scanned and converted to digital images by high speed processors, and then indexed by volunteers on home computers to eventually provide easy access online.
“At the current rate of scanning, it will take between eight and 10 years to complete the microfilm scanning,” said Paul Nauta, FamilySearch manager of public affairs.
Read the full article in the January 30, 2009 edition of The Mormon Times.