The Differences Between FamilySearch Indexing and TGN's World Archives Project

I asked for and received some followup this week from Paul Nauta of FamilySearch Indexing regarding what they perceive as the differences between their offering, and the new Ancestry.com World Archives project. Many of these I already pointed out in my previous post on the topic, but there are a few I forgot - the biggest being that FamilySearch Indexing is MAC compatible which does open up their indexing projects to a wider audience.

Other differences include:

• "More quality indexes, faster. FamilySearch already has over 100,000 volunteers indexing about one million names per day. All projects use FamilySearch’s signature process of indexing each record twice and arbitrating discrepancies to ensure the highest possible accuracy."

• Greater volume and variety of projects: FamilySearch has 15 high speed scanners digitizing 2.4 million rolls of microfilm from its current collection and 200+ digital camera teams filming new records daily in 45+ countries. The result is a greater number and variety of ongoing projects for volunteers.

  This difference addresses the volunteer indexers, not the societies considering which project to partner with.

• "Access to more images. Qualified FamilySearch volunteers will have free access to all affiliate images under contract (Footnote.com, WorldVitalRecords, Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, etc.) with FamilySearch, not just the collections a volunteer personally helped index."

  Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, told me that the indexing volunteers who index 900 records per quarter would have free access to all records in the World Archives Project, not just the ones they personally helped to index. I'm unclear however, on if the affiliate images not posted on Ancestry.com are included in this access - while Paul Nauta of FamilySearch said that even affiliate images and those with access restrictions that prevent them from posting them publicly on FamilySearch.org will be available to *qualified* indexers. In response to my question on the definition of *qualified*, he said they are still working to solidify this with affiliates, but that the "common agreed criteria for indexers appears to be 900 names for 90 days of access to fee-based images."

• "Greater free public access to images. The general public will have free access to all FamilySearch volunteer—generated indexes through FamilySearch.org. All images that are free of records access restrictions will also be free to the public. All otherwise fee-based or restricted access images with commercial affiliates will be available for free through FamilySearch’s 4,500 family history centers worldwide."

  Ancestry.com does not plan to offer free access to the actual document images to the general public, although they will be available to Ancestry.com subscribers, active contributors (who index 900+ records per quarter), and partnering societies. Participating societies also receive a copy of the digitized images and the created indexes for their own use (to post on their Web site, for example).

• "More partners and language interfaces. FamilySearch has long standing relationships with national, religious, government, and societal archives in over 80 countries and will offer its indexing tool in multiple language interfaces (currently in Spanish and English. Portuguese, German, French, Italian, and Russian are in progress). That means a larger and more diverse volunteer force.

• "Established society relationships. FamilySearch has already had great success working with genealogical and historical societies (Ohio, Indiana, Utah, NEHGS, AAGHS, Arkansas, Belgium, Nova Scotia, etc.) in indexing projects in its first few years of operation."

  As I pointed out previously, FamilySearch Indexing does have a 3+ year track record, but Ancestry World Archives Project has partnered with the Federation of Genealogical Societies... I do have to say that I've been impressed with Ancestry.com's commitment to partnering with and supporting genealogical societies.

Paul Nauta was quick to state that FamilySearch Indexing is not affiliated in any way with the Ancestry World Archives Project.(which I think we all know). And while Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, has said over and over that they don't see this as a big competition between Ancestry.com and the LDS Church, my question to Paul Nauta on this issue was not really answered either time I asked, other than to point out the differences between the two indexing projects. Perhaps it was unintentional, but I found the silence on the issue interesting.