FamilySearch Communities: Administrator Community

From FamilySearch Wiki

Revision as of 18:36, 26 October 2012

This article is about an aspect of the Genealogy Research Communities sponsored by FamilySearch.

Administrator Guide - Table of Contents

< Administrator Guide
> Administrator Responsibilities
> Administrator Best Practices

Welcome

It is our pleasure to welcome you to our growing team of community administrators. It has been exciting to see so much research help provided since the first communities were introduced in May 2011. FamilySearch joins with all our community members in thanking you for joining our community of volunteers.

This guide is meant to be informative as you begin your journey as a leader in these online communities. Please take a few minutes to review the information and become familiar with FamilySearch's vision for your communities. Keep note of questions you have along the way and don't hesitate to ask.

Contact FamilySearch Sponsors or other members of the community by:

• Leaving a message on the Discussion/Talk page for the wiki page from which you have a question
• Posting a comment on the Genealogy Research Community Admins Facebook group
• Conversing in the Research Community Admins group chat on Skype (How to join)

Our administrator community

As administrators, we make up a community of researchers and family historians who have developed expertise in locating genealogical resources in specific states and countries. We have had success in identifying our own ancestors, have helped others to do the same, and have a desire to provide an additional avenue of assistance through social media. The broader volunteer community includes all members of each genealogy research community as they have an opportunity to answer each other's questions. We, as administrators, take a leadership role to encourage others to share what they know. Using social media to share information extends our reach and increases the potential for attracting new community members who may become interested in family history research.

To make these FamilySearch communities as efficient and useful as possible, multiple administrators will share responsibilities in each community. Our goal is for all administrators to have a positive experience through working together and ensuring that each community will be a successful and welcoming resource to the public.

Administrator community meetings

Meetings are on hold until further notice. Previous admin meetings were used to help everyone learn about the different things that could be done with a Facebook page.

Reviewing recordings:

• Go to MeetingPlace.
• Enter the code 5588 and click Find Meeting.
• Click Past, change the dates if needed.
• In the bottom section, find the meeting on the date of the meeting you want to watch.
• Click on the number to go to the meeting room.
• Click on Attachments/Recordings on the right side of the screen.
• Click on the WebRecording link.

Special roles

Several other individuals have a unique role in our communities. Periodically, other staff, missionaries, or volunteers are invited to use their specific talents to help the entire administrator community.

Current special roles include:

• Andrew Bavelas - Quality Assurance
• Fran Ellsworth - Admin mentor, instructor, and quality assurance.
• Janett Call - Posting FamilySearch Historical Records update information
• Nathan Miles - Reports

Regional admins

In addition to FamilySearch sponsors, you will also have a volunteer regional admin whom you can go to for help. Each region generally has 5-10 communities. Regional admins are experienced volunteers who help facilitate friendly communities through:

• Reaching out to the administrators in the communities covered by their region to offer encouragement, congratulations, or advice
• A successful regional admin will take initiative in building a working relationship with and between the administrators in the communities he or she oversees (suggested minimum: 3-5 hours per week)
• Leading by example, fulfilling the responsibilities and best practices of an administrator in their community and/or communities of choice (regional managers should not do all the responsibilities of their region, but rather facilitate collaboration between volunteers)

United States Research

• New England (US) - Cathy Napolitano
  Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
• Mid-Atlantic (US) - N/A
  Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland
  
• Midwestern (US) - Mary J. Saylor
  Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
• Mid-South (US) - Fran Ellsworth
  Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri
• Gulf-South (US) - N/A
  Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas
  
• Great Plains (US) - N/A
  Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas
  
• Mountain West (US) - N/A
  Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
  
• Pacific States (US) - N/A
  Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington
  
• Ethnic Communities - N/A
  African American, American Indian, Youth / Young Adult

Canadian Research

• Canada - Deb Dunn
  Canada, Canada First Nations, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
  

European Research

• British Isles: - Deb Dunn
  England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
• Continental Europe - Betseylee Browning
  Czechoslovakia, France (French and English pages), Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia (Russian and English pages), Switzerland, Ukraine
• Nordic - Bradley Marchant
  Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden (English and Swedish)

South America and Spanish Research Worldwide:

• Latin America - Debbie Gurtler
  Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hispanic, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Perú, Puerto Rico, Spain, Venezuela (Spanish and English pages)

Research in Other Areas of the World:

• Oceania - Michelle Patient
  American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga
• Asia - N/A
  China, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, Thailand
• Africa and Middle East - Kelly Erickson
  Nigeria, South Africa