Volunteer Guide
Welcome to The USGenWeb® Project! You've just joined the premier free
online genealogy organization . . . the best of the web! We're proud to say
that we are the original, first, best-known, and largest free genealogy group
on the internet. We are thousands of interconnected state, county, town,
parish, and special project websites coordinated by thousands of dedicated
volunteers . . . like yourself. What we've accomplished since we were founded
in 1996 is amazing. We are grateful for all that our veteran coordinators
have done, and we are excited to welcome new coordinators like you who will
help usher this great project into the future.
You've probably got quite a few questions, and this document will attempt to answer them for you. You may even see some information that you didn't think to ask about! This document will be a constantly evolving thing, as new questions I didn't think of at first are brought up :). Let's begin, shall we?
The "base unit" of The USGenWeb® Project is the county (or other local entity) website. This is "where the rubber meets the road" . . . where the researchers who visit us find the bulk of information and resources in the quest for their family history. These local websites are maintained by Local Coordinators, which is a broad term for all the webmasters of local geographic and state-level special project or topical websites. There are County Coordinators, Parish Coordinators, Town Coordinators, and various state-level Project Coordinators (such as Native American, African-American, etc.). The wonderful diversity of these local-level websites is one of the coolest things about USGenWeb. Our Local Coordinators put tons of effort, experience, and even a bit of their personalities into their websites, and it shows.
These local websites are overseen, supported and cheered on by the State websites. We have 51 of these, for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Each is maintained by a State Coordinator, and most also have at least one Assistant State Coordinator. The state websites, of course, provide links to each local website as well as state-specific general genealogical information as appropriate. The State Coordinator manages the state website and oversees the state project. He or she (or a designated person within the state) will also periodically check your website to be sure that it is humming along smoothly and within project guidelines and standards.
The USGenWeb® Project also has some fine Special Projects, which work closely with our state and local projects, but are independent of them. The largest of these are The Archives Project and The Tombstone Transcription Project, both of which are repositories for massive amounts of transcribed data. There are also a number of smaller Special Projects.
The national level of the project is managed by an elected Advisory Board, whose job it is to address any problem issues as they arise, aid the state projects upon request, oversee elections, advise and mediate, if necessary, any grievances or appeals, and appoint a webmaster to maintain the national website. The National Coordinator, who acts as Advisory Board Chairperson, is responsible for the day-to-day administration of our project and serves as the public representative for the project. Our national website provides a gateway to all 51 state-level projects and all of the special projects. It is rich in free genealogical resources as well as helpful information for local, state, and special project volunteers.
Like most organizations, we have a set of Bylaws that are supplemented by Standard Rules, Special Rules, as well as Standards & Guidelines. Each state project may have additional requirements, which apply to websites within their state.
USGenWeb holds yearly elections to choose Advisory Board representatives and to vote on other project matters. As a member, you will be eligible to vote in these annual elections, as well as occasional special elections and polls. The USGenWeb® Election Committee, a hard-working group of project members, does a great job of managing our national polls and elections for us. In order to receive your voting password when an election or poll comes up, it is necessary for you to register to vote. Visit the Election Committee website to learn more.
There are a number of ways you can stay on top of things here in USGenWeb. There are also a number of optional email lists you can join to listen in on project business, to communicate with elected reps, and to interact and chat with members. A listing of available mailing lists is located at the USGenWeb Mailing Lists page. When posting to a list, remember that not all mailing lists are set up so that replies go only to the individual you're replying to. Some are set up to reply back to the list.
In USGenWeb, we love using abbreviations! You're bound to run into these:
USGW - USGenWeb
SC - State Coordinator
ASC -
Assistant State Coordinator
CC - County Coordinator
ACC - Assistant
County Coordinator
LC - Local Coordinator, coordinators of townships,
city/town, and special state projects, e.g., Military, Marriages, Mystery
Photos
ALC - Assistant Local
Coordinator
XXGenWeb - State project name, where "XX" is the 2-letter state
postal abbreviation, e.g., ALGenWeb for Alabama's state project
USGWA - USGenWeb Archives
AB - Advisory Board
SP - Special Project
SPC - Special Project Coordinator
TTP - Tombstone Transcription Project
FGSP - Family Group
Sheets Project
TOC - Table of Contents
Well, that's about it for now. Get out there and do us proud. Just remember to have fun doing it!
Contributed by Shari Handley
_____
Page content reviewed and/or updated by the Advisory Board 2023 Feb.
Contributor's name corrected 2023 Aug.
Contact the National Coordinator with Project questions, suggestions, or concerns.
Contact any Web Management Team member for usgenweb.org website questions, suggestions, or concerns.
Please include a link if your inquiry is about a specific page or Project website.