Digital Collections (Records): Digital Folder Number List

LegacyUser

MaureenE said: This is something I have recently come across, and which I was previously unaware of.

For some digital collections, I think probably fairly recently introduced collections, such as England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1599-1860 https://www.familysearch.org/search/c..., when you click on "Learn more", you go to a FamilySearch Wiki page where there is a heading "Digital Folder Number List" and from there you can click on a further Wiki page "England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, Digital Folder Number List (FamilySearch Historical Records)" https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/... This page helpfully lists the coverage of this collection.

Digital Folder Number seems to be standard terminology of which I was previously unaware and means the same as DGS number, which seems to be the number given to a microfilm which has been digitised.

There are a number of pages on the FamilySearch Wiki which have been categorised "Digital Folder Number List"
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/...

Unfortunately the collections I am most interested in relating to India do not have pages like this, it is unclear what the collections contain.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: The catalog will have everything that is currently ready in one way or another. Certain parts of the world are not going to be well represented in FamilySearch's collections (unfortunately), but I suspect that we will see more and more collections added in the next few years. "The Bengaluru India Temple was announced on April 1, 2018, by President Russell M. Nelson in his closing remarks at General Conference." Since that is the first temple in India, there will be a real push to gather records from India, but given its population (1.324 billion in 2016 just behind China at 1.379 billion) there are going to be a lot of records that need to be microfilmed and go through the process of preparation for display. See Ron Tanner's RootsTech presentation on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0itqD...

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: His presentation covers the process of selecting, capturing images, and processing, not specific to India, but to Africa. The process in India will be similar.

LegacyUser

David Newton said: Microfilming will never happen again. I think you mean digitised like what the blogger James Tanner is doing at Maryland State Archives as a senior missionary. If you haven't read his posts on the process they're quite fascinating. They have lots of information on the practicalities of the process and the mechanics of doing it.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: When I wrote, "capturing images" I was not referring to microfilming. The term processing is a process that Ron Tanner mentions in his RootsTech presentation. It has nothing to do with developing film.

LegacyUser

Kurt Kastner said: I would prefer the Digital Folder Numbers to appear in the searchable catalog rather than in lists on the wiki.

LegacyUser

Paul said: Kurt

See https://www.familysearch.org/search/c... and screenshot below. They already do.

LegacyUser

Kurt Kastner said: Paul

In most cases the DGS number and the Digital Folder Number are the same. But there are some cases where they differ, e. g. at

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPNC-Q5CY

The GS film number (traditional film number) is 1198639 and the Digital Folder Number is 105484321. The catalog entry

https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/269279

however says that GS film number 1198639 has the DGS number 102397821 associated, which is different from the Digital Folder Number. Obviously this is a consequence of the fact that in the film left-side pages are photographed separately from right-side pages. After page sorting a new Digital Folder Number became necessary.

For cases like this I suggest to add the Digital Folder Number to the catalog.

LegacyUser

Paul said: Kurt

Thank you for explaining. However, I still can't find when you are seeing the Digital Folder Number as being 105484321. I've checked the URLs shown above and can see a listing for Cambridgeshire (BTs) parishes, but can't find any list or reference to the German Lutheran record to which you are referring.

It doesn't appear its usefulness relates to there being a direct link to images, as with the Cambridgeshire records, so (even when found) why is it of any further help than the DGS number shown in the Catalog?

BTW - I have found a list of Digital Folder Numbers at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/..., which obviously cannot include them all (as your record is not included).

LegacyUser

Kurt Kastner said: Paul

The Digital Folder Number of an index record is in section "Document Information" on the right hand side. If the info is hidden open it by clicking on the button right of "Document Information".

LegacyUser

Paul said: Thanks for showing me this, Kurt.

LegacyUser

MaureenE said: Kurt, probably you should use the Errors? button at the bottom of the catalogue page to report this.

As I am not LDS this microfilm is not available to me , the viewing message for film 1198639 /102397821 is "You may be able to view this image by visiting one of our partners' sites or the legal record custodian (fees may apply)"