Wiki FamilySearch Barn Raising Projects

In the Beta version of the FamilySearch start page there is a link entitled "Learn." The link takes you to a new "Learning & How To's" page. I am impressed with the links provided on that page which lead to the FamilySearch Research Wiki. Although I am well aware of the huge amount of information pouring into the Wiki, it is apparent that FamilySearch is finally getting to the point where all of this information will become more accessible.

Especially notable are the Wiki Barn Raising projects outlined at the bottom of the Learning & How-To's page. Unfortunately, the projects outlined were supposed to occur many months ago, but are apparently still projects that could be worked on by volunteers. The projects include the following:

North Carolina Project. Quoting from their description: "Welcome to the North Carolina barn raising page! A wiki barn raising is a short, focused community effort to create or revise content relating to a single topic such as "genealogical research in North Carolina." The tasks listed below need to be accomplished during the North Carolina barn raising which will end the end of June 2009. Please volunteer to complete one or more tasks by first registering."

England Project. Supposed to be ended by February, 2009. Similar to the scope of the North Carolina Project.

Germany Project. Supposed to be completed by the end of March, 2009.

West Virginia Project. Not listed as a project in the Wiki, the link takes you directly to the Portal:West Virginia.

Maryland Project. Barn raising was to have been completed in January, 2009.

Czech Republic Project. Not listed as a project in the Wiki, the link takes you directly to the Portal:Czech Republic.

The Web traffic on FamilySearch is vastly greater than that for the Wiki. These projects probably languished primarily because of the lack of visibility of the Wiki FamilySearch Website. Hopefully, this new emphasis on the Wiki through direct links from FamilySearch will spark a major amount of interest in completing these projects as well as others. Meanwhile, the fact that there are links from the Beta version of the redesigned Web page is major step in the right direction.