28 January 2022
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A new method that aims to make volunteering at FamilySearch easier and more relevant to the volunteer's own family history is due to be unveiled at RootsTech Connect in March.
Hundreds of thousands of online volunteers have produced nearly 2 billion searchable online records since 2007 using FamilySearch crowdsourcing technology. The result of these efforts are free, highly searchable name indexes that enable anyone to instantly find information about an ancestor at FamilySearch.
The challenge now, though is how to create these searchable name indexes as fast as FamilySearch is digitising the world’s historical family history records. Part of the answer is engaging more online volunteers. To do this, FamilySearch is offering new mobile technology and personalising the experience so more volunteers can contribute in ways that are personally relevant to them.
Ian James, a FamilySearch product manager, explained the benefits: “What if online volunteers could conveniently participate using their mobile phones? What if the records they help make more discoverable online were relevant to their personal family tree? What if meaningful contributions only took a few minutes to complete? What if the experience was in the volunteer’s native language? Those are some of the unique benefits of upcoming upgrades to the online volunteer experience. We are merging the lines between volunteering and making personal family history discoveries."
This is the vision for the new online volunteer experience and integrated mobile app FamilySearch will unveil at RootsTech Connect 2022. FamilySearch believes these new experiences, expanding volunteer involvement globally, along with more technological capabilities under development, will exponentially increase access to the world’s historical records and enable millions more personal family discoveries.
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