by Cathy Gilmore | Jul 11, 2017 | Features
Every family has at least one. No, not the crazy uncle. We’re talking about the record-keepers. You know, the ones that ended up with all the stuff: the family bible, the old photos, the diaries and letters. Some people spend a lifetime gathering records, hoarding photos, and hunting down lost items. Others come upon records by accident or inheritance. If you’re a record keeper, chances are you’ve thought a lot about what to do with your family records. You may not know it, but you’re an archivist.
What’s in Your Closet?
Like professional archivists, your goal is to collect, preserve, and share things—in your case, family records. Among the challenges professional archivists face when building a digital repository is making their collections discoverable, accessible, and searchable to their patrons. Family archives share these same challenges. For record-keepers of family photos, journals, letters, and other precious memorabilia, we should think like an archivist and ask ourselves the following three questions about our family records.
1. Are they discoverable?
Do your relatives and researchers know your family records exist? If not, how would they discover them? If your records are not “born digital” and are still in their original state as paper letters, journals, and other documents, it’s nearly impossible for others to discover your records. If your records are digitized, where are they stored? For example, the storage options below have varying levels of discoverability.
- Cloud storage, like Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox
- Physical storage, like computers, external hard drives, USB, CDs, etc.
- Online family tree databases, like FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and Ancestry
- Historical or genealogical archives
While some may think “I don’t want my records to be discovered,” remember that discoverability does not preclude archive owners from establishing rules of access and usage. For example, record owners may wish to be selective with record sharing, charge for record access, or enable rules and limitations on the use of the record. No matter what rules we have in place, discoverability remains the fundamental first step in creating a family archive. Without it, our records are lost to the world.
2. Are they accessible?
Once records are discovered, can relatives and researchers access them? There are many instances where records may be discoverable, but not accessible. For example:
- You discover records online, but they are in a private family tree you can’t gain access to
- You discover that a record in an archive, but it can only be accessed by visiting the archive
- You discover a record in an archive, but learn that access is limited to certain people
- Everyone knows Aunt Sue has the family Bible, but she won’t show it to anyone
- Your relative has the family photo collection on his external hard drive, but you can’t get a copy
As a record-keeper and family archivist, an important role is to enable accessibility to family records. If you don’t do it, who will?
3. Are they searchable?
Are your family records currently searchable? How easily are they sorted, searched, and read? What elements of your records are searchable (file names, titles, descriptions, etc.)? How does your software, cloud storage, or family tree database facilitate searchability? As a companion question, can your records (and all of their associated data) connect with other databases, family trees, and archives? Furthermore, can your record data be downloaded, manipulated, and applied in other ways, like timelines, maps, and books? When choosing where to place your family records, remember that full searchability is key to an archive that is engaging, connectable, and readable.
A Kindex Solution
These are the kinds of questions we think about every day. We help family archivists rescue their records, bring them out of obscurity, and create archives that can be discovered, accessed and shared. With Kindex you can:
- Enable your archive to be discovered by potential collaborators and contributors
- Access your archive from any computer, anywhere.
- Unite scattered family records, make hard-to-find collections accessible to your members, and create public or private networks to collaborate on your archive
- Create searchable record data in three ways (metadata, full text transcription, and tags)
- Download your archive data (as CSV) any time.
In addition, we have some amazing features presently in development that will help your archive to connect and be shared with other people in various formats.
SAY NO MORE. LET’S DO THIS!
Still undecided? Here are some bonus questions:
|
Where is your Archive?
|
|
Undigitized |
On your computer |
In cloud |
In a digital family tree |
On Kindex |
| Do I control my archive access, scope, and content? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Varies (private vs. wiki-based) |
Yes |
| Is my archive discoverable online? |
No |
Limited |
Limited |
Varies (private vs. wiki-based) |
Yes |
| Is my archive accessible from any computer? |
No |
Very limited |
Varies |
Varies |
Yes |
| Can others collaborate on my archive |
No |
No or very limited |
Yes; limited |
Varies |
Yes |
| Can my archive be private? |
Yes |
Yes |
Varies |
Varies |
Yes; Choose your privacy level |
| Is my archive fully searchable? |
No |
Limited |
Limited |
Limited |
Yes* |
| Can I add metadata? |
Yes |
Varies |
Varies |
Limited |
Yes |
| Can I add metadata in batch form? |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Does my archive have integrated transcription & record tagging tools? |
No |
Varies; often separate from primary source |
Rare; Varies by platform |
Rare; Varies by platform |
Yes |
| Can I download all my archive data? |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Is my archive compatible with other databases? |
No |
Varies |
Varies |
Varies |
FamilySearch (others forthcoming) |
*some metadata searchability in development
Archive Your Life on Kindex
Don’t you think it’s time you started thinking like an archivist? Kindex is free to try, so head over to Kindex.org and get started. Click “Try it Out” to start your free archive up to 50 records. Upgrade to unlimited records (and unlimited collaborators!) for about $12/month.
TRY IT OUT!
by Cathy Gilmore | Apr 17, 2017 | Features
Have you planned your family reunion yet? If you’ve ever attended a reunion, you know how much work goes into publicity, venues, games, t-shirts, and of course, food. In all this planning, it’s easy to lose sight of one key event you should implement at your next reunion: a “Record Rescue”. A Kindex Record Rescue is an all-inclusive way for families to gather, preserve, and share their family records.
It begins with inviting Kindex to your next family gathering to scan your records, and ultimately ends with family records united on a searchable, shareable family archive. The end product is a Kindex family archive where family members can gather, index, and search every word of records once hidden in closets and on shelves.
Learn more: A Sampson Family Record Rescue
Whether your small, grandparent family organization (GFO) or a large ancestral family organization (AFO), ask yourself the following questions :
- Do you know where all your family records are?
- Are all your family records scanned?
- Do you have a long-term plan for protecting and preserving your family’s physical records?
- Does your family have a way for all its members to access to their records?
- Are your family records indexed and searchable?
- Do you know exactly what will happen to your family records when you pass away?
If you answered “no” to any of those questions, it’s time for a Record Rescue. Family reunions provide a rare opportunity for families to gather and scan family records, as well as discuss how they can ensure their records will be preserved and accessible. Families can:
- Unite far-flung records by inviting family members to bring their photos, letters, and journals
- Discover and view precious family records for the first time
- Inventory family records including ownership, record types, and provenance.
- Learn how to handle, organize, scan, and index their records
Kindex is passionate about family records, and we want to help you rescue the most at-risk, precious source of your family’s history: your own family records. Contact us to learn more and reserve your family reunion date.
Learn how Kindex helped the Sampson Family Organization rescue their family reunions.
START MY RECORD RESCUE
by Cathy Gilmore | Apr 17, 2017 | Featured Archive, Stories from the Archive
One family organization—the Sampsons of Delta, Utah—embraced the idea of record gathering and digitization. When reunion organizer Tonna Bounds first approached friend and Kindex owner Kimball Clark, she had a great vision of uniting her family records, but was concerned about the following obstacles:
- How to encourage family members throughout the country to attend the reunion and bring their records
- How to scan records correctly within a limited timeframe
- How to discern which family members had what records
- Convincing aging or skeptical family members to preserve and share their records
- Involve children and youth in family record archiving
With her family’s biannual reunion several months away, we suggested she use Kindex Gather Services to hold an on-site digitization event—a “family scanning party”.
Preparation
Several weeks before the reunion, we sent the family a “Call for Records” publicity image to promote the digitization event. The family posted this image on social media and emailed this image to family, and provided guidelines on record gathering including:
- A list of family members in attendance, and who of those brought records
- How record scanning would be prioritized. For example, the Sampson family focused on letters, journals, and papers more than photos. They also gave higher priority to records coming in from out-of-town attendees, and those records belonging to first-generation family members.)
- Acceptable record sizes, and what types of scanners would be available to accommodate those sizes
- Suggestions on preparing items for scanning, including the removal of loose papers, staples, paper clips, sheet protectors, etc.
Execution
When family members with records arrived at the reunion, we checked in their records and gathered the following information:
- Record owner and contact information
- Primary person to whom the records originally belonged
- Inventory of items to be scanned
As more documents arrived throughout the day, we were impressed with the family’s response to the Call for Records. Records were gathered from New York, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. Soon all our scanners were busy, and several family volunteers—including several youth—jumped in to help. Throughout the reunion, families entered the “record room” to check on the status of their scanning. They were delighted to see the process, and several volunteered their time to move the process along.
Mark Sampson, Kimball Clark, Dale Sampson, and Caleb Sampson busy scanning their family records. Caleb remarked, while scanning the journals of his ancestors: “This makes me want to go write in my journal when I get home.”
Ikara Bounds scans her family records while Kimball trains Caleb Sampson on book scanning
A Sampson family member pauses scanning to review an old school photo of an ancestor.
Follow Up
At the end of the day, we returned the records to their owners, and made arrangements to scan any records that remained. Following the compilation of all digitized files to an external hard drive, Kindex will:
- Orient each scan
- Save each in the appropriate format and grouping.
- Transfer the complete digitized archive to USB drives for family members to order
- Upload all digitized records to sampson.kindex.org, which enables the family to access each record and begin the indexing process.
Because of the Sampson Family’s dedication to the preservation and and sharing of their family records, their scanning event was a great success. Family members couldn’t wait to access records they had never seen, and were already planning indexing and book projects. Several volunteers became emotional as they paused to read journal entries between scans, pored over old photos, and when a copy of the Delta High School fight song was discovered, played an impromptu version of on the piano. Others simply poked in their heads and exclaimed, “Wonderful! We can’t wait!”
After the reunion, we asked Tonna how she felt about the record-gathering effort. She said:
“How do you explain something that took place at our past reunion that is so futuristic in thought and action. People don’t understand the potential in all of this—jaw dropping in thought!! Just trying to wrap my brain around it all. Aunt Zelda and Uncle Ivo’s history has been destroyed and through all the ancestors’ history. Those lost histories can now be put back together with even more force then could be imagined.”
The Sampson Family prepares letters for scanning.
We were honored to be a part of the Sampson Family’s effort to bring their family records out of obscurity, and hope to enable many more families see the the potential in utilizing family reunions for the gathering and preservation of their own family records.
Contact us to learn more about how Kindex can help you rescue your family records.
by Cathy Gilmore | Mar 28, 2017 | Features, Resources
A few weeks ago I was browsing in an antique shop when a stack of old photos caught my eye. As I examined these portraits and family poses one by one, I discovered names written on the back: David A. Page. Teddy O. Keefer. Ester Olson. How did they get lost?
Photo 0020 on found.kindex.org is David Alonzo Page with wife Gilheld “Nellie” Qualseth and children Gladys and Elmer, c1900.
As a self-proclaimed hoarder of my own family records, I couldn’t imagine letting go photos like these. And yet it happens every day. Parents pass away, downsize, or move, and family records are lost or thrown away. Records that do remain are often sold in estate sales, eventually finding their way to antique stores or flea markets where they sold as mere commodities.
Kindex wants to change that. While we are doing all we can to rescue records before they are lost, we created the Kindex Lost & Found Archive as a home for records without families to claim them. Found.kindex.org is a destination where collectors, volunteers, researchers, and family members can work together to rescue our histories by preserving, indexing, and discovering lost family records. There are many ways you can be a rescuer—and you don’t have to own any records to get started.
Rescue by Indexing
Rescue history by transcribing photos, postcards, and other records rich with information. Indexing on found.kindex.org creates a new repository of names, dates, and locations that make thousands of records searchable for the first time. All you need to get started is a free Kindex account and a generous heart.
How to index records Kindex Lost & Found Archive.
Postcard 0016 on found.kindex.org
Rescue by Collaborating
Become a collaborator on found.kindex.org and you can add your own collections of “lost” records to be crowdsource indexed. To become a collaborator, contact us for an invite or go to found.kindex.org and click Add a Record.
Rescue by Partnering
If you are an antique collector or dealer you can help rescue history by partnering with Kindex and sharing your records on found.kindex.org. We have partnered with some great local antique shops, including Longwood Antiques and Cobwebs Antiques & Collectibles, who have agreed to allow Kindex to scan photos, postcards, scrapbooks, and other indexable records. We, in turn, have agreed to host them in a crowdsourced indexing archive where the records can be searched for and found by their names, descriptions, keywords, and other metadata—all at no cost to them. Records are attributed to the store they came from, so when they are found, researchers can contact the store owner to inquire about the records.
Who is the cute & mysterious gas station attendant my mother met on the road to Las Vegas in 1959? We’ll learn soon on found.kindex.org.
What’s the Catch?
There’s no catch—just do have a few guidelines:
- Records added to this archive must have some sort of indexable text that would identify the record to an individual or group.
- Collaborators who add records to Kindex archives retain copyright ownership. By adding records to Kindex, you are grant Kindex a license to host and create a derivative (i.e., an index) of your records.
- Record owners may watermark their images so much as the watermark does not detract from or obscure any part of the record.
- You must follow all Kindex Terms & Conditions. You have an opportunity to review them when you create a free Kindex account.
- To index records as a guest, or to add records as an archive collaborator, you must have a Kindex account.
Please contact us with an questions you may have, and happy finding!
SIGN UP
by Cathy Gilmore | Mar 28, 2017 | Featured Archive, Resources, Software
Thanks for being amazing and indexing on found.kindex.org! See the instructions below for indexing records on the Kindex Lost & Found Archive. For a general overview and instructions, see links below.
Getting Started on Lost & Found
SIGN UP
- If you haven’t already, sign up for a Kindex account.
- Note when you sign up on Kindex, you receive your own free archive (up to 50 records) with a custom subdomain.
- After you sign up, navigate to found.kindex.org and choose a record to index.
Note: If you are a collaborator on this archive, you will see the “found” archive in your archives list.
- A purple checkmark means the record has already been indexed, and “transcribe” means it’s ready to be indexed!
Indexing photos
Transcribe & Describe
All photos in found.kindex.org should have some indexable text. Sometimes the text is written on or around the photo, and sometimes it is written on the back. If you need to add any of your own comments or clarification in the transcription, please include it within double brackets [[ ]].
- Type what you see. As with any transcription project, type what you see. Don’t correct spelling, expand abbreviations, or add anything that’s not there (except when using brackets [[ ]] if needed).
- Index a description of the photo. If there is no text on the photo itself, add a description that will help it be more searchable. Add an image description by clicking on the image tool above the transcription window. A numbered image box will appear where you can add your description.
Add an image description by clicking on the image tool above the transcription window.
- Photo captions or descriptions. Add the photo caption or description. If it’s on the next page, be sure to add a page break.
- Studio mark. If there is a studio mark, be sure to include it.
- If you are finished with your transcription, click Submit. Otherwise, click Save for Later.
Tagging & Adding Metadata
After you do the transcription you will go to the Tag step. Here you can additional information that can help this record be sorted and found.
Note: this step is optional. It is not necessary to fill out any or all of this information. To skip or complete this step, click Submit.
Indexing Postcards
The same guidelines apply when indexing postcards.
Postcard 0016 on found.kindex.org
Note that postcards have additional areas of information, such as postmarks, and captions to images. Because Kindex does not yet have unique indexing fields for each type of data being transcribed, it is helpful to indicate within double brackets [[ ]] the type of information indexed, as shown below:
For Record Owners & Collaborators
If you have been invited to be a collaborator on an archive, you will be able to add records to that archive to be indexed. Please note the following:
- Records added to this archive must have some sort of indexable text that would identify the record to an individual or group.
- Collaborators who add records to Kindex archives retain copyright ownership. By adding records to Kindex, you are grant Kindex a license to host and create a derivative (i.e., an index) of your records.
- Record owners may watermark their images so much as the watermark does not detract from or obscure any part of the record.
- You must follow all Kindex Terms & Conditions. (You have an opportunity to review them when you create a free Kindex account.)
- Kindex has the right to remove records that don’t comply with terms and conditions.
Important: As of 03.28.2017, you can only add one record at a time, but batch upload capabilities are set to be released by April 7th. This tool will also enable you to batch assign Record information such as descriptions and provenance.
Thank you for being a record rescuer!
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