FamilySearch volunteers expect to have transcribed more than 325 million names by the end of 2009, just three years after the organization began its online indexing program.
The milestone was a number once thought impossible to reach in such a short period of time. In 2006, a few thousand volunteers indexed only 11 million names. But thanks to continuing advances in technology and a growing number of volunteers -- more than 100,000 across five continents -- an estimated half-million individual names are indexed each day.
At that rate, Paul Nauta, FamilySearch public affairs manager, expects that 500 million names will be transcribed by the end of 2010.
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Over time, the LDS Church's Family History Department has developed new ways to preserve records not only as quickly as possible but at the highest quality possible. This has resulted in specially designed digital cameras, innovative scanning technology, and new computer software.
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Digital cameras that have been adapted to the work are at the center of each operation. They are the tool used to capture images of the original documents once a project is identified and permission gained.
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After the negotiations are finalized, an area is set up on-site where the cameras are used to create digital images of the historical documents. The process can take from a few weeks to several years, depending on the size of the collection, the type of documents being copied and the workers' experience levels.
With cameras similar to those used by NASA and in other industrial settings, workers produce an image at a high resolution of 50 megapixels, or 50 million pixels. Adjustments to the cameras' technology, made by church camera specialists, increase their durability.
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