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VOLUNTEER
INFORMATION
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Welcome to to the Alaska GenWeb Project. I'm Vikki Gray, your
Alaska State Coordinator. All that means is that I handle the computer
end of things and try to give you guidance when requested. This page
is designed to give you an idea of what is required to adopt an Alaska
Borough or Census Area. We need your help!
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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
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What
is the US GenWeb Project?
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| The
USGenWeb Project consists of a group of volunteers working together to provide
Internet websites for genealogical research in every county/borough/parish
and every state of the United States. The Project is non-commercial and
fully committed to free access for everyone. You can visit the US GenWeb
Project at www.USGenWeb.Org for further
information. |
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What
is the Alaska GenWeb Project?
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| We
are a section of the US GenWeb Project. We follow their guidelines but deal
with Alaska only. The State Coordinator maintains a home page with a list
of the Boroughs and Census Areas along with general information for historical
and genealogical researchers in Alaska. The home page has a link to each
adopted Borough/Census Area. |
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What
is required to adopt a Borough/Census Area?
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| Nothing
special! You should have an interest in history and genealogy and a willingness
to learn more about your Borough/Census Area. |
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Do
I need any special skills?
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| It
is helpful to know a little about setting up a website, but not required.
The State Coordinator can post your materials for you, but most volunteers
like to learn a little about setting up a website. That's the fun part and
its easy! |
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Do
I need any special equipment?
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| You
should have a computer and internet access. |
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Do
I need any special computer programs?
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are several inexpensive web design programs available. Dreamweaver is the
easiest and most intuitive web program that I have used. Some die-hards
actually hand-code their pages, but who needs the brain damage? The other
program you need is an "FTP" program. This is just a mini-program
that sends your webpage from your computer to the server on the internet.
I like to think of FTP as the postman. There are many free or shareware
FTP programs available. I use WS-FTP. But as I mentioned, if you don't have
the desire or budget you can just email me the data and I'll post it for
you. |
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Are
there any other costs involved?
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| No.
You can host your Borough site for free on Rootsweb, Rootsquest, the AKGenWeb
or other genealogy sites. |
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Can
I advertise on my site?
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| No.
The AKGenWeb is a non-commercial site. In some instances you could provide
a link to another site that does advertise. For example if there is someone
in Washington DC who will research military records in Washington DC for
a fee - you could provide a link to that person's site. |
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Are
there any rules I must follow?
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Very
few!
- The site
can't be commercial as discussed above.
- A volunteer
may only adopt a maximum of 4 Boroughs/Counties/Parishes per state.
- Volunteers
are asked to check-in on the first of the month for email roll-call.
This is to ensure that things are going well for you and that your site
hasn't gone dormant/abandoned. Plus we like to say howdy to each other.
- We have
an email list that you should be subscribed to for this purpose. We
also keep each other updated, via this list, as we find new sources
of information.
- Your website
is required to have a Query section. Most of us just create a link to
the Rootsweb
Query message boards which are automated. Then we don't have to
deal with it. I have already done that for you on your "skeleton"
page.
- Your site
must have an AK GenWeb logo and a US GenWeb logo with a link to these
sites.
- You should
have some copyright information at the bottom of your pages.
- When you
take over a Borough from a previous Borough coordinator you should give
him/her credit and thanks on the main page.
- We try
to give thanks to everyone who provides information. For example, if
someone sends you a photo and you post it, you should add something
like "courtesy of Jane Doe" next to the photo.
- We can't
post copyrighted information without permission. All information prior
to 1923 is in the public domain and this is not necessary
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So
if I put lots of work into something (such as a cemetery transcription)
- Who owns it?
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| You
do. Plain and simple. You created it and its yours. If you leave the US
GenWeb Project you can take your information down, or you can donate it
to the Project. |
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Can
I design my pages anyway I want?
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| Yes
you can. I have created "skeleton" pages for each Borough/Census
Area to make it easy for you. What you see on the current Borough Pages
is the skeleton. It meets all the requirements and nothing more. Think of
the skeleton as the framework for your new house. You can choose your colors,
your Borough logo, your theme, your fonts, and how you want things organized.
You decide on the material you put on the pages. You can add bells and whistles
or keep your pages simple. Each Borough is different and you can treat them
differently. |
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Can
I adopt a Borough that someone else has?
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| Yes
and no. We can only have one Borough site for each Borough. But all is not
lost! Some Boroughs currently have Coordinators who are holding them until
the right person raises their hand! Or perhaps you might want to become
a "Co-Host" of the Borough and help out. This is a great way to
get your tippy-toes wet without a big commitment. If you have a certain
Borough in mind, ask your State Coordinator can check the status for you.
For example, I currently host Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula and Sitka. But
I would certainly be thrilled to bring the right person in. I can always
go give a different Borough some TLC. |
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How
much time does it take to handle a Borough?
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| Not
alot. You will get an occasional email from someone with a question. You
will need to check-in monthly. The real time is spent when you decide to
transcribe some new information and post it. You should expect, when you
first take over a Borough, to put in a little extra time, because you will
be gathering new information such as where deeds are recorded, what is the
history of the Borough, and what cemeteries are within the Borough. You
will be doing a bit of googling for this info. But you decide how much time,
not us. |
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What
kinds of things should I try to post on the website?
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Gosh there
are lots of goodies. Historical information, biographies of interesting
people, census-availability for your Borough, cemeteries - where are they
and are there any burial lists. Build a bibliography of books that are
useful for researching the area. Land records, vital records, old photos
can be posted. Old Church membership lists are useful. Photograph tombstones
in an old cemetery. Scan your old Alaska yearbooks and post them. Post
the indexes out of local history books. If they don't have an index you
can create one. Create a list of old-timers and pioneers for your section.
On my site
I try to do one thing that is just fun. For example, if whaling was important
to my Borough I might want to post a list of old whaling terms or whaling
ship info. Skagway could use something fun on the Chilkoot trail or trivia
about Glaciers, the North Slope wouldn't be complete without info about
oil drilling and/or Will Rogers and Wiley Post. The Aleutians might want
a trivia section about the Japanese takeover in WWII. Nome and gold mining
go together, Fairbanks and riverboats, Denali and mtn climbing feats.
Somebody needs to do something on sourdough. Each Borough is different
- treat it so and have fun!. If you aren't having fun - your site will
reflect it.
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So
how do I get started?
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| Drop
the State Coordinator
an email and the State Coordinator will get you started. |
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Should
you have any questions, please email
the Borough Coordinator.
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This
page was last modified:
You
are our
visitor since 10/1/2009 - thanks for stopping by!
Copyright
2009 to present for the benefit of the AKGenWeb Project.
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