By FamilySearch
Everyone has seen images of man in ragged clothes, crawling in the hot desert sand with the sun burning and vultures flying above in circles. Contrast that scene with a man in shorts, lying under the shade of an umbrella, sipping a lemonade with ice.
What situation more closely resembles your experience with family history? Are you a researcher like drinking lemonade, which has many records to review and many avenues of information that can not decide where to start? Or is it more like the dying man in the arid wilderness, eager to find even a drop of information about your ancestors?
If your ancestors lived in an English speaking country, most likely they are enjoying a wealth (perhaps better described as a flood) enriching information about your ancestors at FamilySearch.org. If your ancestors are from elsewhere in the world, FamilySearch recognizes that the possibility of finding them is like trying to find water in the Sahara desert.
This bulletin has long promoted the idea that everyone deserves to be remembered. The result is the belief that every living person should find their ancestors. Does it surprise you to know that FamilySearch.org currently offers 20 times more records searchable in English than in all other languages combined? The reason why we are publishing openly the need for indexers and arbitrators in different languages is obvious.
The recent event worldwide indexing function was to publicize the need for indexers and arbitrators in all languages, with a special emphasis on French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish in 2015. We "encourage the search" for people Worldwide. To this end, we are redoubling our efforts to recruit volunteers fluent in other languages beyond English, living in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
To help these people to start indexing and ensure the quality of indexed records, we are publishing projects introductory indexing and providing special training guides, videos and online training seminars. We are also inviting and training others who speak only English, but are willing to learn to index specific types of records in a second language. In addition, FamilySearch is evaluating its processes to determine how to provide more indexing projects in different languages and how to publish online quick work of volunteers to better recognize and reward their work.
This is not a temporary campaign. This is the new axis indexing program for the future, and we need your help to succeed. We urge you to think about what you can do to contribute to this effort. If you speak a language other than English as their native language, please start or continue indexing and arbitrating in your language. If you know people, or leading other people whose native language is not English, please do everything you can to persuade people to help index and arbitrate in their native language. And do not forget that as indexing increases in other languages, the need for help with the arbitration will also grow. For more information, click here. If you have comments, please send them to fsindexing@familysearch.org.
By working together, we will make possible for everyone to experience the joy of finding your ancestors!