Comments on: GenSeek Wish List

By: Genlighten Blog — Genealogy Documented » Blog Archive » 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy Challenge #5: Trying Out Worldcat.org

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:18:19 +0000

[...] Library Catalog entries available with all of this functionality. But of course, that’s where Genseek is supposed to come in, [...]

By: Jeri Steele

Jeri Steele — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:31:50 +0000

Many libraries use Polaris which allows me to email myself a Bibliography of things to research on my next trip. At a minimum I hope Genseek allows me that. Cutting and pasting from the current library catalog entries is a pain!
Keep the ideas flowing!

By: Illya Daddezio

Illya Daddezio — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:06:57 +0000

Hi Mark… interesting suggestions. Most of the features you’re talking about will be available very shortly on Live Roots… today I released a full Family History Library Catalog search (Place, Surname, Keyword, Title, Author and Subject searches) on LiveRoots.com and in the Live Roots for Facebook application. (To be announced at NGS 2009: the “Follow” feature which will let you tag resources into “Projects”). The Team Roots service from Genealogy Today has already been integrated into Live Roots, and it is that account that you’ll be able to link all this stuff to.

By: Tamura Jones

Tamura Jones — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:19:48 +0000

As a researcher, you want to include information sources, including GenSeek, into the research project in your application, where all your other genealogy data is, and where your To-Do list integrates with it all. That could be an online application instead of a desktop application, say FamilyHistoryLink, but you sure want to keep it with your data as a whole.
It makes little sense to track sources you want to consult disconnected from the rest of your research project, nor do you want the hassles of tracking these in more than one place.

You should manage your research project in your own database and application. There is no need for a separate online tool to track sources that you want to consult, as you can bring your data an application to a library on a laptop or USB stick already. That will work even if there is no Internet connection. And if there is one, you can access your online genealogy application.

GenSeek will offer more than a traditional catalogue. For example, one way that GenSeek will improve upon the current Family History Library Catalogue is that it will link to Google Books if a book is available there.

GenSeek does offer an interface that third parties can use to consult its index from within their application (where the entire research project is). That interface can be used by both desktop and online tools. Thus, FamilyLink could very well offer the online experience you are after by integrating GenSeek search into (the research manager of) its FamilyHistoryLink application.

By: Randy Seaver

Randy Seaver — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:50:07 +0000

Good ideas, Mark.

Michael’s comment about interfacing online family trees with the GenSeek API may be the kick that makes the online family trees the standard application rather than genealogy software on your computer.

Programs like Gensmarts, and the software programs that link to them, may retool and use GenSeek extensively to suggest specific books, microforms or databases to search in..

Keep thinking!

By: Jim Ericson

Jim Ericson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:43:29 +0000

These are great ideas. Mark, thanks for getting the ball rolling here. Please keep the ideas flowing. Fortunately, I can say that many of these concepts are already included (although they will not all be available in the first release). You can also send me ideas directly jim (at) familylink.com or to our Twitter account @genseek. You can follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/genseek. Thanks!

By: Michael Martineau

Michael Martineau — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:28:23 +0000

Sounds just like what FamilyPursuit.com already has. In fact we call them research projects too, complete with privacy settings and the ability to track your research logs right in the research project. As soon as GenSeek releases their API, we will interface to it so that genealogists can populate a list of sources directly from the family history library catalog.

By: Carole Riley

Carole Riley — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:58:40 +0000

Why not go the next step and have the research tasks in my family tree software, which currently creates tasks for specific repositories, then generate tasks in GenSeek?

By: Miriam Robbins Midkiff

Miriam Robbins Midkiff — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:00:42 +0000

Mark, I love the ideas you’ve proposed here!