Great idea from the Family History Center Consultants group

Chris Schmink

@AndersonMaryCatherine1 posted the following over in the Family History Center Consultants group after initial frustration with the loss of the Family History Center Portal (which means FHCs are not able to do anything more than a home computer for the next 90± days). It appears they have made some really sweet lemonade out of some rather sour lemons out in the Tacoma area - possible ideas for other areas as well. Just thought I'd pass it along to this group as well, given the intent of this group. 😀

-- Chris

==== Copied from Family History Center Consultants Group ====

Originally posted by @AndersonMaryCatherine1 15 June 2021

We are not able to access an[y] Affiliate Libraries which are closeby and even those far are just beginning to open - most of them only one part of one day per MONTH... and they are 50 miles away or more. Great idea to continue to develop a closer relationship with our Main Local library - but they too are only open one day per month for 4 hours. And mostly only the lobby is open to check out books and videos and turn them in again...

Instead we (Tacoma Family History Center) are joining with the BYU Record Linking Lab and who accepted our proposal to develop a Record Reclamation Project for the Tacoma-Pierce County area, involving local inner city church groups, genealogy organizations and Urban League and other groups to assist us in putting the African American Heritage Residents - and others from the US Census reports all on Family Search using their Map App - as well as adding other digital records from libraries and museums around us to the project - and train people via zoom and using the Center and small groups. With this, we are finding great success. People are doing hundreds of names each week. It is fun and easy. We are setting up hot spots at Girls Camp and cycling the girls through doing Record Linking for our area. When one door closes - a huge other door opens. We have more Community involvement in our Center now than ever. I attend more meetings with other groups in the area who want to support this and help... Digital records which have been closed to us locally will soon be available to put on Family Search in family groups... using record linker and custom hinting through the BYU Record Link Lab computers.

Are we still not able to use the computers at the center the way we are used to - yes. But we can make many things work. We are teaching Family Search techniques and teaching problem solving.

Heather R Jacobs

Wow! That is wonderful what the Tacoma Family History Center is doing! I love @AndersonMaryCatherine1 perspective and I think the BYU Linking Lab is quite amazing. Kudo's to all who are finding solutions amidst the struggles. ❤️