If you are interested in genealogy and have some time to spare, you may want to volunteer to transcribe records into the Family Search database. Family Search is an excellent, free genealogy resource that is maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Anyone can access Family Search’s collection of genealogy records and resources from around the world.
How can Family Search provide free access to all of these records? Thanks to the efforts of thousands of volunteers from all over the world, census data, probate records, vital records, church records and other records are entered into the databases. Once the records have been entered, they can be searched by anyone. You can volunteer as little or as much time as you want, and entering the data is not difficult. Family Search gathers records from around the world and converts them into digital images which are stored in their online system.
Volunteers download the images onto their computers and transcribe the data into the Family Search online indexing system. If you are curious about volunteering, I would encourage you to visit the Family Search web site. You can read all about the volunteer data entry program, and even take it for a “test drive” to see if it is right for you. If you do decide to volunteer, you can choose which records you will transcribe. Choices range from Canadian passenger lists to South African church records, and everything in between.
It is wonderful that with so many genealogy resources out there that charge a fee, there is a resource that is not only free, but contains a large amount of searchable information. The Family Search collection is growing at an impressive rate – in September alone, over eight million records have been transcribed so far. That is simply amazing. I would like to extend a thank you to all of the volunteers that have devoted their time to contributing to the growth and success of the Family Search collection of records.