Can there be more examples of what to index and also examples of what NOT to index?
I have been indexing and reviewing in US, Missouri—County Marriages, 1806–1969 [Part O][M9LV-9N9] for the past two weeks. There seems to be a lot of confusion on what to index and what not to index. Could there be more examples of what to index and some examples of what NOT to index? For example, I notice being indexed a lot of indexes that may have a husband's name and a wife's name, a marriage license date and number followed by a page and volume number. Are these to be indexed? Show an example of what NOT to index. Also, show a name-only example. I found it confusing to be instructed how to not put a space before or after apostrophes and then not being able to enter apostrophes. It could better have said, Index O'Neil ONiel. Thanks
Best Answers
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Hi. May I suggest that you go back and reread the project instructions? The instructions provide great instructions on what to index and examples of what not to index. After doing this if you feel you need more help please do not hesitate to come back and ask for more clarification. I'm sure someone here will be able to help you.
Thank you for indexing for all families. Your help is much appreciated.
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Sorry for the delay in anyone responding to your question. The shared batch is no longer available since I am sure in 3 days you have finished and submitted the batch! Anyway - to answer your questions ...
"Could there be more examples of what to index and some examples of what NOT to index? For example, I notice being indexed a lot of indexes that may have a husband's name and a wife's name, a marriage license date and number followed by a page and volume number. Are these to be indexed?"
YES - they are to be indexed and there is a further instruction that the reference number is the page number of the license entry, not the page of the index.
- For entries on a marriage index, type the appropriate reference number associated with the entry on the index, not the page number of the index itself.
in this project, every document is to be indexed, except book indexes that only have a name and a page number. Because the indexes you are describing have a name AND a marriage license date, they would be indexed. If they are primary documents without a date, then they would also be indexed. This falls into the category of documents like unused licenses or maybe cover pages.
The priority list in the field helps and the project instructions gives volunteers the priority list for choosing the correct dates from the documents.
The project instructions also address what to index: (I bolded what I find to be pertinent words).
- Index any primary marriage record or associated document that has the name of a bride or a groom, even if the document does not contain a date. Documents to index include marriage licenses, indexes, marriage applications, and so forth.
There is also a pop-up when you open the project that tells the indexers/reviewers to index all records even it they do not include a date:
"Some images to be indexed may contain only a name. Images that contain only a name should be indexed regardless of whether the image contains any other fields that are being indexed in the project. This rule does not apply to book indexes, where only a name and a page number are to be indexed. "
These pop-ups are usually included to alleviate confusion once it seems like it is a problem. My guess is that they were finding people not indexing records that didn't have a date - besides the book index.
I guess an example could be shown with a book index, but, it seems like they have addressed it - an index with a name and only a page number would not be indexed.
i.e., Smith, John 434
Smith, Mable 643
Smith, Saml 552
It is unfortunate that the PI's didn't address the apostrophe issue on the surnames. But, this is a bit of an anomaly. Most projects allow inclusion of the punctuation, although it is rarely required. (It was recently required in a Virginia Marriage project per the field helps). However, when corrected, spaces, caps, and punctuation do not count as an error either.
I hope this helps. Some projects definitely require a lot of examples, and others do not need quite so many. Only once have I seen a project which showed an example of what not to index.
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