UK, England, Middlesex—Parish Registers, 1539–1988 [Part B] [MSPC-KVZ]
I have just reviewed this batch of 150 names. They were indexed as Christening records, but going back over the prior batches I could not confirm that. I could only assume that the Indexer had prior experience with similar, but earlier batches showing that they were, in fact, Christening records.
Why is there not a general review of a total record set to ensure they will always be able to be indexed? This set, no doubt, because the name of the Parish and the type of record only appears on the front of the book. Surely there is something that can be done to get this basic information attached to all the individual batches taken from that book. Having served a mission in photographing records I am saddened to see considerable potential for these records to be lost because of the lack of access indexers often have to important information. This could also lead to indexers losing interest in the work.
Another aside interest in this batch was that every surname in this large batch, extending over several months, started with 'S'
Please comment
Best Answer
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Great question:
Please know that when each batch has been completed and reviewed, all batches are brought together in the project. If a field is marked blank because there is no information on the image, it is combined as a whole and everything will be added.
Thank you for your question.
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Answers
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Wow, that was quick! Thank you
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It was partially answered, but the answer did not address the comment that indexers could be discouraged. Also the amount of work to repair this whole batch could be addressed early, before issue, by adding information that would require far less work.
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I think it is important to mention that Indexing is only one part of this huge program. As you mentioned, Dekmar, you photographed images so you already know about metadata. This is how things that are marked blank can be filled in later as was alluded to by Mirevo.
Other indexers may not know that when the images are photographed using digital cameras the equipment records specific data for the images. Information is entered into the camera allowing it to attach a metadata file to each image. These files can contain things like locations, dates, events, tags, and even book titles. For example, this is the way our smart phone tells us where we took a picture using geographic location codes (GPS) and even puts the photos into albums for you! So there are many data points that can be added after indexing that have been captured by the photographer and their digital camera.
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Digitizing_the_Records_in_the_Granite_Mountain
https://media.familysearch.org/familysearch-digital-records-access-replacing-microfilm/
Indexers should not be discouraged.
Nothing is ever lost. We have been told in the past that every indexing attempt is saved on the servers, whether it be the first index of an image, or the 4th correction. They can always be accessed by the folks in charge. Always remember that computers are wonderful, but, human eyes and brains are still more powerful when it comes to reading difficult cursive. Our indexing is even used to teach computers to read and work more efficiently. So the work of the indexer is never in vain.
It does sound like the batch you were reviewing may have been an index. If the indexes only have a name and a page number, they should be marked No, No Extractable Data. If it is an index of names with dates, then it would be indexed. Indexers and Reviewers can always ask for help to determine if the records are Births/Christenings, Death/Burials, or Marriages by providing a share batch code and holding on to it until someone has a chance to answer.
https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-index-records-with-indexes
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This is an index to baptisms. Baptisms and Christenings are classified together in this project. This project has names and dates so should be indexed.
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I have run across several batches in this project where they do not have names and dates - just names and page numbers. So, you have to be careful.
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