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conbhaill
24-05-2006, 11:59 PM
If you have spent hours or days wearily ploughing through acres of microfiche or microfilm in search of your ancestors, then perhaps our project might interest you.

The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints has one of the largest collections of historical records in the world kept safe in vaults in Salt Lake City. These are well known to serious Genealogists. It has been determined that these records should be electronically scanned and a computerised index produced under the Family Record Extraction Program (FREP)

FREP involves the extraction of data by volunteer extractors from Microfilm records to produce an computerised index of the Films.

The result will be an ability to search and access Microfilm records from a computer terminal rather than having to spend hours and days wearily ploughing through miles of Microfilms in search of ancestors.

Whilst most of the volunteers are church members non members are also able to take part. All that is needed is a home PC and preferably a broadband connection.

The software and remote training are free and without obligation from our web site at http://www.ago.org.uk similarly scanned images are provided remotely.

All are welcome to peruse our work and techniques at our web site.

We are shortly to embark on a special project to extract an index from 19th century Probate Records from the North of England which should be exciting and fun.

Will Conbhaill

John
25-05-2006, 12:32 AM
So what are we looking at here Will? An extracted index of scanned images?

How will these records be accessed? will they only be available online or will we still be able to access them at FHC's or our local archives?

I'm sure there are other questions but. . .:)

John

conbhaill
25-05-2006, 12:41 AM
So what are we looking at here Will? An extracted index of scanned images?

How will these records be accessed? will they only be available online or will we still be able to access them at FHC's or our local archives?

I'm sure there are other questions but. . .:)

John

John

The results will be made available on the web ultimately, most likely via Familysearch.org The index will be linked directly to the image, so if the researcher interrogates the database by say Event place and Surname clicking on the resultant records will bring up the scanned image directly to your PC.

At present our volunteers can do this with their Image Packets and data files but the finished article will be on a much grander scale.

Will Conbhaill

conbhaill
25-05-2006, 12:49 AM
So what are we looking at here Will? An extracted index of scanned images?

How will these records be accessed? will they only be available online or will we still be able to access them at FHC's or our local archives?

I'm sure there are other questions but. . .:)

John

John

Just noticed you are from Manchester, by coincidence we are currently extracting names from microfilm of Manchester, Lancs, England and have indexed over 7000 names in the past month.

Though our website is named Ayrshire Genealogy Organisation it is not as parochial as it may sound. It is the only Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints FREP web site in the world and we are pioneering some rather unusual techniques in distributing images, training, datafiles and software updates.

Will

MarkJ
25-05-2006, 12:57 AM
Will,
I looked at the website, but it is light on information. Several questions spring to my mind straight away which are not answered by the site.
For example-
as I use Linux, would your software work with my chosen OS? What about Mac OSX?
What does the work involve exactly - e.g need for a microfiche reader?
Once the transcripts are placed online, as you mention, most likely on Familysearch.org, will this be free access or paid for ?
John mentioned the possibility of this being available to FHCs etc - that would be very useful to those without PCs or indeed internet access. You did not seem to answer that part of the question. I can appreciate that you may not have all the answers, but these are the sort of things which prospective volunteers would ask I expect :)
It sounds a very interesting project, but more information would bring more people to it I feel.

Cheers,
Mark

Edit: by the way - nice to see the use of "Alba" :)

John
25-05-2006, 1:26 AM
Will, Im am looking at this in a positive light, at the moment my life is in a period of transition and for the next few weeks on a very slow dial up connection.

I have one major reservation though. I have great respect for the 1881 transcription but. . . many feel that it was let down because the final indexing was done by people with either no knowledge or interest in British Geography.
Tsh, it's past my bedtime and I've lost the thread, some might say better a bad index than no index at all.
I'l leave this for tonight and come back in the morning refreshed.

John

Rod Neep
25-05-2006, 1:47 AM
John

Let's go with the flow on this one, think positively, and see where it leads. It could turn out to be extremely interesting.

Regards
Rod

John
25-05-2006, 1:55 AM
John

Let's go with the flow on this one, think positively, and see where it leads. It could turn out to be extremely interesting.

Regards
Rod
Sorry Rod and Will, I am looking at this in a positive manner, though I agree that it doesn't show too well.
Hey, I need something to do with my new broad band (when it comes) |computer|
I already think it interesting.

John

Guy Etchells
25-05-2006, 7:36 AM
Is this part of the Scanstone Project to digitise all LDS films?
http://tinyurl.com/ka5y2

Cheers
Guy

conbhaill
25-05-2006, 8:55 AM
Will,
I looked at the website, but it is light on information. Several questions spring to my mind straight away which are not answered by the site.
For example-
as I use Linux, would your software work with my chosen OS? What about Mac OSX?
What does the work involve exactly - e.g need for a microfiche reader?
Once the transcripts are placed online, as you mention, most likely on Familysearch.org, will this be free access or paid for ?
John mentioned the possibility of this being available to FHCs etc - that would be very useful to those without PCs or indeed internet access. You did not seem to answer that part of the question. I can appreciate that you may not have all the answers, but these are the sort of things which prospective volunteers would ask I expect :)
It sounds a very interesting project, but more information would bring more people to it I feel.

Cheers,
Mark

Edit: by the way - nice to see the use of "Alba" :)

Mark

The images are displayed on the volunteer's PC screen using the UDE (6.0) program and are supplied via the net by downloaded "Packets". This is a virtually paper free process. So no to microfilm readers, paper holders and drawers of photocopied papers etc.

Once the index has been extracted the Datafile is returned either by email or by checking it into our Document Management System. The downloads are automated to the extent that the images and the empty data files are deposited in the correct directories where the UDE (6.0) program will look for them.

I am making enquiries about Linux and Mac OSX today and will get back to you on that later today (after I've dealt with Super Seniors).

%
John mentioned the possibility of this being available to FHCs etc - that would be very useful to those without PCs or indeed internet access. You did not seem to answer that part of the question. I can appreciate that you may not have all the answers, but these are the sort of things which prospective volunteers would ask I expect :)
It sounds a very interesting project, but more information would bring more people to it I feel.

Cheers,
Mark

Edit: by the way - nice to see the use of "Alba" :)[/QUOTE]

Mark

The images are displayed on the volunteer's PC screen using the UDE (6.0) program and are supplied via the net by downloaded "Packets". This is a virtually paper free process. So no to microfilm readers, paper holders and drawers of photocopied papers etc.

Once the index has been extracted the Datafile is returned either by email or by checking it into our Document Management System. The downloads are automated to the extent that the images and the empty data files are deposited in the correct directories where the UDE (6.0) program will look for them.

I am making enquiries about Linux and Mac OSX today and will get back to you on that later today (after I've dealt with Super Seniors).

We appreciate that there seems to be a lack of information and we are preparing a FAQ page for the site. The site has only been up and running for two months so we are doing not so bad. The site is much more dynamic than it might appear as it is at the hub of our distribution and communication sytem .

Any more questions willing answered.

Best wishes

Will Conbhaill

conbhaill
25-05-2006, 8:59 AM
Is this part of the Scanstone Project to digitise all LDS films?
http://tinyurl.com/ka5y2

Cheers
Guy

Guy

Yes I suppose it is, is the shorter answer as our source is SLC.

Though I am the only FREP Director using a Website peculiar/specific to our particular group at the moment.

Will Conbhaill

joette
25-05-2006, 11:51 AM
Well I have decided to take a chance & get involved.All those fiches although wonderful to me when i started are so frustrating & time consuming.
I think the Church has been so forward looking with this project & so generous of it's resources & time of the members-I'm one so I am giving myself a pat on the back too!!!
Also I have so many Ayr roots-although some of them rowed across the water to get there from Ireland that it had immediate appeal for me.

conbhaill
25-05-2006, 8:41 PM
Will,
I looked at the website, but it is light on information. Several questions spring to my mind straight away which are not answered by the site.
For example-
as I use Linux, would your software work with my chosen OS? What about Mac OSX?
What does the work involve exactly - e.g need for a microfiche reader?
Once the transcripts are placed online, as you mention, most likely on Familysearch.org, will this be free access or paid for ?
John mentioned the possibility of this being available to FHCs etc - that would be very useful to those without PCs or indeed internet access. You did not seem to answer that part of the question. I can appreciate that you may not have all the answers, but these are the sort of things which prospective volunteers would ask I expect :)
It sounds a very interesting project, but more information would bring more people to it I feel.

Cheers,
Mark

Edit: by the way - nice to see the use of "Alba" :)

Mark

I enquired into the OS question earlier today and the short answer is, the software only works with Windows Operating Systems.

However I need to enquire further afield to find out if there any plans afoot to rectify this. My personal view is that it would be a pity to waste all the goodwill there might be forthcoming from the many potential volunteers running Linux or other OS.

I'm not shy at suggesting things, so who knows.

Best wishes

Will

MarkJ
25-05-2006, 9:06 PM
Will,
Thanks for the clarification on that. I can fully understand why many programs are released for the Windows OS only - it does have 90 something percent of the market ;)
In the meantime, I wish the project well and will follow your progress with interest.

Cheers,
Mark

conbhaill
25-05-2006, 9:31 PM
Mark

But who would buy a car with a Windows badge on it? If you get my drift.

Will

John
25-05-2006, 10:15 PM
Mark

But who would buy a car with a Windows badge on it? If you get my drift.

Will
What, along the lines of what else do you stop by pressing the start button?

Bump bump bump, Rod, do you thing projects such as this deserve a forum of their own?
That's not trying to hide you Will, in fact the opposite.

John

Latest date for broadband=9th June, I don't suppose that you will have finished Manchester by then:)

conbhaill
26-05-2006, 1:03 PM
John

I have no doubt we might have some Manchester images left on 9th June, but we will definitely have 25000 images in July containing Wills and Probate Records from somewhere in the North of England.

Will