Calling all Arbitrators

Spring time on the Farm in PA, taken by Bishop Bob Woolley 2014

Mark Your Calender

Six and one-half Million images await arbitration ! Familysearch is promoting a Worldwide Arbitration Event in May. Please consider helping out if you are already an arbitrator or contact me to find out how you can become one. (lgmgilbert2@yahoo.com  or 405-367-7159)

1. The Goal is to help more ancestors be found and to reduce the number of images awaiting arbitration by two million or more. This process must be accomplished before all of those indexed records can be released for publication and we can find our ancestors.
2. The start date is May 1, 2015, that is coming up soon.
3. The end date is May 8, 2015 - one week

Here are four tips that will help you to get ready for this event:

1. Read the Instructions, field helps and project instructions, even if you have read them before. Review, there have been many changes including an abbreviated guide for indexing obituaries.
2. Record Match!   I consider this the most important thing you can do. Make sure indexer A and indexer B are on the same line. Be sure to hit the"finished" key after record matching or your arbitration work will NOT be saved.
3. Start now, in April,  by Indexing a batch from each project you plan to arbitrate.
4. Arbitrate in your own language, unless you have gotten special training in another language.

Plan to do a first-class job arbitrating. What you are doing is a crucial role in helping others to find these images online. 

Update on New Indexing Program

The new indexing program is coming later this year, here are some of the things you can expect to see: [taken from the FamilySearch Blog page; see Aug 4, 2014 by Katie Gale for more details]
 click here:  FamilySearch Blog

• Single-key indexing of selected projects. This will involve simple projects, like printed or typewritten records. These records are indexed accurately by the majority of indexers so only one person needs to index them, and no one will arbitrate them. Rather than our current system where two people index the same thing. There will be an audit process that can catch major indexing mistakes and if the audit sees a lot of mistakes a peer review or arbitration process will be added.
• Single-key indexing plus peer review. A single indexer will index and a second indexer will review the completed work. In some projects the second indexer can add corrections to the values, and both entries will be included in the searchable index.  As an indexer you will have to index a minimum number of records before you are allowed to review others' work. Familysearch will decided who can do the peer reviews.
• Single-key indexing by field. This involves fields such as Age or Event Year, which are generally transcribed accurately by most indexers and do not need to be reviewed or arbitrated. The new system will bypass these additional steps and cut down on the number of items that arbitrators need to look at, thus speeding up the process.
• Single-key indexing by qualified volunteers. More experienced indexers sometimes reach a point where review or arbitration of their work may actually increase errors. Indexers who reach this level of quality will have their work directly routed to publication, bypassing any reviews. Familysearch will determine who these indexers are and will run periodic audits to ensure the quality of their work.

I am sure you will love this new indexing program when it is finally released. For those of you who are Group Administrators, and yes you still are one even with our Stake reorganization, please go into the Beta version and play around with batches so you can see what the changes will be like. Nothing you do in the Beta version is going to be saved or published, it is just a "sandbox", a place to practice. I personally like the peer review, because it enlists the help of other indexers, even though they are not arbitrators. This should reduce the workload of the arbitrators.

Please keep Indexing and Arbitrating, our activity has really fallen off in April. Be sure to put in your new Ward name in your personal profile, so the new Ward can get credit for your work.