Include instructions on using image search to find information for indexing

paulgentry1

I've been indexing US—City and Business Directories, 1749–1990 [Part C]. Most images in this and similar projects do not give the city or the year. I'm sure these fields are important for future patrons using the indexed records. Please include instructions on how the image search can be used to find the information for these fields. For example, I'm currently indexing the following image: https://www.familysearch.org/indexing/batch/a48b113b-cf36-483a-8597-21d5ead6725a

There is nothing on the image to determine the city and year. However, I can click on About Image and copy the DGS portion of the image name, bring up Search, Images, click Show More Search Options, click Show Advanced Search, paste the DGS number in the Image Group Number (DGS) box, and click Search Image Groups. When the results appear, click on the result (there is usually just one) to view the images. Copy the image number from About Batch and search for it in the group of images. Now you can scroll up through the images until you find the first image or images for the city directory you are working on. Here you can find the name of the city and year. These same steps can be followed for many indexing projects to get information that is not on the specific image you are indexing. Being able to see the few images before and after the image you are indexing within the indexing tool is usually not enough. It would be amazing if there were a link within the indexing tool directly to the image group. For example, if the Image Name in About Batch could be a link to the image in its group, it would be perfect.

Also, it would be very helpful if all the searches were available when doing the image search instead of having to click two more times to get to the Group Number (DGS) search.

Melissa S Himes

Just in case anyone sees this and attempts to use the method for indexing, currently we only index what is on the image. Sometimes there will be a project instruction that will allow us to use the reference images to collect data for the image we are indexing. In the City Directory project, if someone fills in the directory place and the year and it isn't on the image, the reviewer must delete the information. This will likely send the batch on to a second review and delays the image going on to the publication phase. I think there is a chance that prior to publication of these records there might be work done behind the scenes which will add the directory place and date information.

Marilyn Munk Carlson

This may just address a peripheral issue to the original post, but I do think that there is frequently (especially with difficult to read handwriting) a need to see more images because studying many examples of that handwriting is very, very helpful in learning how the clerk formed his letters. This would aid in creating more accurate indexing. For this reason alone, a link to the entire record set would be very helpful.