History fans wanted for new project

Northumberland Archives is looking for volunteers with a passion for history to log records digitally as part of a new initiative, Reading Room.
Northumberland Archives is based at Woodhorn Museum in Ashington. Picture by Marie DoveyNorthumberland Archives is based at Woodhorn Museum in Ashington. Picture by Marie Dovey
Northumberland Archives is based at Woodhorn Museum in Ashington. Picture by Marie Dovey

The project, in partnership with FamilySearch.org, aims to make browsing parish registers easier and more accessible for the public.

Currently 60 per cent of indexes have been processed for the county, but Northumberland Archives, based at Woodhorn in Ashington, is looking for volunteers to complete the remaining 40 per cent.

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Volunteers with an interest in family ancestry and historic records are being asked to select information from marriage, death and baptism registers online and input them into the digital system to enable the archives to be indexed.

People can choose to undertake this work from the comfort of their own home. The role is flexible meaning people can volunteer as little or as often as they want, ranging from 10 minutes to a whole afternoon logging records.

Coun Cath Homer, cabinet member for culture, arts, leisure and tourism at Northumberland County Council, said: “Reading Room is a valuable and fascinating resource for many people to explore their family history.

“Northumberland Archives is offering a great opportunity for people with an interest in local history to get involved. I would encourage anyone thinking about volunteering to take part.”

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The process to apply is quick and easy and anyone interested should visit www.familysearch.org to register.