CanadaGenWeb Project - Information for Volunteers
CanadaGenWeb Project - Organizational History, Policy and Procedures
Organization of the CanadaGenWeb
Project
The CanadaGenWeb
Project was established in early 1997 in an effort to assist the
dissemination of genealogical information for Canada on the Internet. The
Project is organized geographically. The National page links to the Provincial
or Territorial pages, which link to the County (or Regional) pages, where
the majority of the genealogical data can be found.
In an effort to keep CanadaGenWeb consistent in its goals, CanadaGenWeb
Project pages should not be used as your own personal pages. Rather, these
pages should reflect the philosophy of the CanadaGenWeb Project as opposed
to the personal philosophy of the GenWeb volunteer. However, if you have
a personal genealogy page, you may feel free to link to it. A sincere effort
should be made to keep the content of each CanadaGenWeb site focused on
the dissemination of pertinent genealogical data and to offer freely available
information to genealogical resources on the Web.
Minimum Requirements
National CanadaGenWeb Project:
•General information about the CanadaGenWeb Project
•Links to the Canada Provincial and Territorial GenWeb pages
•A Queries page - for "Unknown" Provinces and Territories only
•GenWeb Logo - One of the CanadaGenWeb Project logos should be prominently
displayed on each CanadaGenWeb site. This helps visitors to easily identify
the site as part of the Canada GenWeb Project. See the logo page for more
information.
Provincial Canada GenWeb Project:
•General information about Provincial or Territorial genealogical resources
•A map outlining the various Counties (or Regions), or a list of Counties
(or Regions)
•How to volunteer for a County (or Regional) GenWeb site or a link to this
page for prospective volunteers
•Links to the County (or Regional) pages and links to the other Provincial
GenWeb Pages, preferably on the main page
•Links to other pertinent genealogical sites
•A Queries page - for "Unknown" Counties or Regions only (see
information in next section)
•Each Provincial coordinator should be subscribed to the CanadaGenWeb project
Mailing List. This is a private list that is used to discuss pertinent
issues for host, and you can expect to receive varying amounts of email
messages from these lists.
•GenWeb Logos - Both the CanadaGenWeb Project logo, and the Provincial
GenWeb Project logo should be prominently displayed on the main page. A
link to the WorldGenWeb Project site is also a nice addition. See the logo
page for more information.
County (or Regional) CanadaGenWeb Project:
•Map of the County (optional)
•History of the County (optional, but a helpful addition)
•Names of the towns and cities in the County (optional, but a useful addition)
•Postal addresses and Internet links to:
- Genealogical and Historical societies
- County or municipal offices, and addresses for vital records
- Other links of interest to people researching in that area
•A Queries page, or guestbook equivalent
NEW! As of May 1998 - There is now an automated query board system available to all CanadaGenWeb hosts via the GenConnect System. This will enable users to set up a "hands-free" query page on their sites. For more information on this, please visit the: GenConnect System. If you are interested in setting up a Queries system like this, please visit the: GenConnect Admin Center to request that a GenConnect board be set up for your site.
•A lookups section for pertinent genealogical resources
Each County (or Regional) GenWeb site may provide a lookups section, on a separate page, with a list of volunteers who have offered to do limited lookups for others in relevant genealogical publications.
Once the lookups page is established, please contact Jim Thomas, host of the Canada Genealogy Helplist, and let him know that you need a link to your lookups page.
Alternatively, in lieu of establishing a lookups page within your GenWeb site, you may send all lookup offers to Jim Thomas, including name of volunteer, email address and resource(s), for inclusion on the Canada Genealogy Helplist site.
•Each County (or Regional) coordinator must be subscribed to the CanadaGenWeb Project Mailing List. If a Provincial GenWeb mailing list exists, you should also be subscribed to that list. These are private lists that are used to discuss pertinent issues for host, and you can expect to receive varying amounts of email messages from these lists.
•GenWeb Logos - Both the CanadaGenWeb Project logo, and the Provincial GenWeb Project logo, should be prominently displayed. See the logo page for more information
•A link to your Provincial GenWeb Page on the main page, and preferably, links to other County GenWeb sites as well
Links to the USGenWeb Project site is also helpful to visitors, and you are encouraged to add it to your pages.
Please note: these are the minimum requirements. Additional pertinent information may be placed on your page at your discretion. Most importantly, feel free to use your own imagination and creativity to make your Canada GenWeb Project site your unique creation.
Primary Sources and Projects
Although all genealogical information pertaining to a respective GenWeb
site is acceptable, the use of primary data is preferred and encouraged.
This would include, but is not limited to, cemetery listings, church records,
vital records, ship passenger lists, military records, obituaries, etc.
Establishing "projects" for your sites such as these is highly
encouraged and can be an excellent means of utilizing the services of volunteers.
All material that has been contributed to the CanadaGenWeb Project by volunteers
remains the property of the CanadaGenWeb Project and is to be freely available
and not to be sold. Therefore, it is wise practice to place a disclaimer
on pages with donated material similar to this: "Note: This information
is intended for personal research use only. This material may be printed
out as long as this notice remains. Any commercial use or sale of this
information is strictly prohibited without the permission of the CanadaGenWeb
Project.
Further information
It is hoped that there will be some consistency in the "look and feel"
and in the structure of the CanadaGenWeb Project pages. Visitors should
be able to immediately recognize that they have reached a CanadaGenWeb
Project site. They should also get the impression that the information
provided by CanadaGenWeb sites is offered at no cost to them. Please utilize
the following guidelines as a key:
- Your page may be included in one (1) "Genealogy Web Ring". One example of this is "GenRing".
- Your page may include no advertising "Banners" to a commercial site unless it is a requirement of your Web host (i.e., the Geocities "Geoguide").
- If you as a host provide any type of "for-fee" commercial genealogy services, you may link to this information providing that it is maintained on a separate page from your CanadaGenWeb site, and preferably under a separate domain. You should not place any solicitations for your time or effort on your CanadaGenWeb sites. The main goal is to maintain a clear distinction between your personal ventures and your CanadaGenWeb site.
- When linking to any commercial or "for-fee" sites, it is recommended that they be clearly labeled as such. This could be accomplished in one of several ways, including having a separate page specifically for these links, or by denoting each of these sites with an asterisk ("*") and placing a footnote at the on the bottom of the page that states: "* These sites may offer paid services or resources and are not financially associated with the CanadaGenWeb Project." The main goal is to avoid giving visitors to CanadaGenWeb sites the impression that the Project is involved in any for-profit activities.
- We also ask that you refrain from placing any political, religious or otherwise personal statements on your CanadaGenWeb sites.
Creating Your Canada GenWeb
Project Site
HTML experience is certainly an advantage in hosting a CanadaGenWeb
project site. However, if you are not familiar with HTML, your Provincial
coordinator may have available for your use a "blank" template
page where you can simply type in the appropriate information.For example
you could download part or all the GenWebLanaudiere pages and modify them.Or,
you may want to try one of the many shareware/freeware programs that assist
with the creation of Web pages.
A very helpful site to visit
when you are just getting started is Cyndi's
Genealogy Home Page Construction Kit. Here you will find a comprehensive
list of, and links to, every tool that you will need to create your Web
site, including HTML editors, graphics, and much more.
If your Internet Service Provider does not provide Web page storage space,
you may want to contact Geocities,
which offers free space to any non-commercial site, or Rootsweb,
which offers unlimited free Web space to all GenWeb sites.
Content of your CanadaGenWeb Site
- Create the page with the long-distance researcher in mind. What would they like to know about a Province or County? Where can they get genealogical records within the Province or County, or outside of the Province or County? What years are the records available for? What types of records are available?
- Don't try to "re-invent the wheel". If the information is available elsewhere just link to it. There's no need to go to the trouble of creating a mirror image. By following this small piece of advice you'll save yourself time and a possible conflict with another web site.
- When adding links to your site, please give priority to sites that are directly related to your Province or County. Although there are many excellent genealogy sites on the Web, you should attempt to keep the links on your CanadaGenWeb sites as pertinent to your area as possible and be sure that the most relevant links are highlighted.
- Topics you could cover are -
- Addresses - List as many Provincial or County genealogy/history addresses as possible including both Web addresses and regular "snail" mail addresses
- Books - A list of publications relating to genealogical research in the Province or County
- Cemeteries - A list of cemeteries in the Province or County, where they are located, addresses (if obtainable), and where transcriptions can be found
- Census - A list of all of the Census records and where they can be obtained
- Church Records - Churches that can be found in the Province or County
- Events - Genealogy/History events that are currently going on in the Province or County
- History - When this Province or County was formed, when settlement started, geographical changes over the years
- Land Petitions/Records
- Newspapers - A list of newspapers that have been published in this Province or County, when they were published, where they can now be found
- Pioneer Families - A list of surnames of the families who settled in the Province or County within 20 years of that area being settled.
- Research tips - Pass on advice from your own experience to help researchers in this Province or County. Suggest some "pitfalls" to avoid, where the best sources of information can be found, etc.
- Web Links - Try to keep links related to your Province or County only
- Visiting -- Places of genealogical interest not to be missed if visiting this area
- Have fun, be creative, and enjoy hosting your CanadaGenWeb site!
Other Helpful Tips: Visit current GenWeb pages -- and not just those in Canada. Have a look at the USGenWeb Project pages, too. They have some really excellent sites! See what they have on their pages and use them as guidelines when creating your page.
** Please note -- If you see a current GenWeb site that you like the look of, and wish to use the same format for your site, please e-mail the host of that site for permission. While HTML is not copyrightable the format in which it is used may be, and like an artist or author, web page creators are very protective of their creativity! Keep it interesting. Add new information and move old information around. This will keep visitors coming back. There's nothing worse to visitors than a page that appears "neglected".
Responsibilities of a CanadaGenWeb Host
Keep your page maintained and up-to-date. Update the page at least once a month to keep it current
Answer any e-mail messages that might come your way. If you can't answer the question, feel free to pass it along to someone who may be able to. Do your best to satisfy your "customers".
Be courteous and respectful when answering mail. You are not just representing yourself and your site, but you are also a representative of Canada and World GenWeb Projects
Always present yourself in a courteous and professional manner when you are representing CanadaGenWeb. When participating in mailing lists and other pubic forums, please try to use your best judgement and try not to give a negative impression of either yourself as an individual or as a CanadaGenWeb host
You are not expected to do research for visitors to your CanadaGenWeb site. This is a personal decision and should only be tackled if you really want to do research for an individual.
Roger HétuCoordinator, QuébecGenWeb Project