CGS Computer Committee

Some of the most important volunteer work done at the California Genealogical Society is carried out behind-the-scenes by the members of the Computer Committee: Al Clark, Kathy Watson and Gary Willcuts.

In June of this year the committee conducted a survey of member volunteers to identify problems. Responses were logged and priorities set. The committee created a project work list and assigned one member to oversee each issue.

The committee's first priority is to create consistency among all the computers. The intent is to set up all of the computer desktops in the same way so that a volunteer can sit down at any computer and find things in the same place. Icons have been set up in a specific order.

Subscription and free databases are now easily accessed by clicking the "Links" button on the bottom right side of the toolbar.

"Links" opens the list of all available databases:

Ancestry
Boston Pilot Missing Friends
CGS Catalog
Customize Links
Family Search
Footnote at the California Genealogical Society
LDS DigFamHists
Lib of Congress Cats
Mid-Atlantic States Archives
NEHGS
New England Records
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Proquest Historical Newspapers
Rootsweb
VitalSearch-CA
VitalSearch-worldwide
WorldVital Records

Other issues that are being addressed by the committee include performance, training, e-mail, back-up, new software, and setting up all computers for data entry and data access.