> SALT LAKE CITY - FamilySearch - the world's largest repository of > genealogical records - is calling for 10,000 volunteers who can read > both English and Spanish to help index Mexican, Argentine and other > Latin American records for the Internet. > > FamilySearch is embarking on a massive initiative to digitally > preserve and index millions of Latin American records that are now > difficult to access because they are located on microfilm or in an > archive. > > The first target is the Mexican census of 1930. People interested in > finding their ancestors in that census now have to hunt among 506 > rolls of microfilm at a special library. When the project is finished > within about one year from now, people with Mexican ancestry will be > able to search for relatives easily from their computers at home. > > The project is being launched in cooperation with the National > Archives of Mexico. > > Paul Nauta, manager of public affairs for FamilySearch, said the > volunteers could spend as little as 30 minutes a week indexing records > from their home computers. Volunteers should register at > FamilySearchIndexing.org, which will allow them to download one batch > (one census page) at a time. Volunteers simply type in the information > highlighted on the digital image. Each batch should take about 30 > minutes. > > The completed product will be a free, fully searchable online index of > the 1930 Mexico Census, and it will be linked to the original images > at FamilySearch.org. Digital images of the original census can be > viewed currently at FamilySearchLabs.org. > > "The 1930 census project will be the first fully indexed census for > Mexico," Nauta said. "When finished, the database will be a tremendous > asset to family historians with Mexican roots." > > Nauta said that census records are especially valuable because they > include a large portion of the population and can provide details > about individuals which may not be available on some church and civil > records. > > "The 1930 Mexico Census is priceless to genealogists because it is the > most recent, publicly accessible census for Mexico. It can provide an > ancestor's age, birth year, religion, birthplace and occupation, > explain an individual's relationship to family members and provide > other family information," Nauta added. > > The 10,000 bilingual indexers will be added to a growing army of > volunteers that will soon top 100,000, well ahead of year-end targets. > > Over the past months, FamilySearch has been preparing digital images > of the various census pages and many other records for placement on > the Internet. However, without an index for the material, family-tree > enthusiasts would still have to go through the pages one-by-one > looking for their ancestors. > > "Once indexed, the records are searchable in seconds, just like > looking up a name in a phone book - except quicker, easier and > online," Nauta said. > > The 1930 Mexico Census marks the first Latin American project for the > Web-based FamilySearch Indexing program. In addition, FamilySearch > indexers just completed the Argentina census of 1895 and will soon > start on that country's 1855 census. > > A four-year project to digitize historical land and property documents > and wills in Paraguay has just begun, and civil records in Nicaragua > will become part of the indexing program within 30 days. > > FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of > Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members consider it a > religious obligation to identify their families. FamilySearch > maintains the world's largest repository of genealogical resources, > accessible through FamilySearch.org, the Family History Library in > Salt Lake City and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries. > >