susaneking.com

September 8, 2009

Contact: Susan E. King or Joyce Field

Susan E. King and Joyce Field team up to provide new genealogical data brokerage services.

There are perhaps no two individuals involved in genealogy who understand the need to improve the delivery of genealogical data better than Susan E. King and Joyce Field, who have decades of experience in the field of genealogy and data acquisition.

They have teamed up to use their unique skills to provide a service-- brokerage services for those having data of important genealogical value. With contacts spanning the globe and unparalleled relationships with those in the market to digitize, store, and serve genealogical material, there is no doubt that this team will work relentlessly and tirelessly to assure that your data find the proper home which meets the objectives of your organization and are accessible to those who are on their journey of researching their past.

It is well-known, even in the current environment, that many archives and other historical institutions still house an enormous number of valuable genealogical collections in paper records and on microfilm. These records exist without indexes, without finding aids, without online searchable databases.  These now inadequate storage media make vital information totally inaccessible for researchers and put an enormous strain on institutions, with staff shortages, trying to answer questions on records.

In addition, storage of and access to historical paper documents, which are often in fragile condition, and microfilm collections are expensive in comparison to digital records. While so many organizations and institutions lack financial and human resources to digitize and index their collections, there are other organizations today eager to partner with them. These partnerships could include digitizing and indexing services at no cost to the institutions with an agreement that the data can be searched online.

In addition, an online ordering system can be implemented to process record requests identified in the searchable online databases. While there are benefits for all the above, perhaps the most compelling benefit will bring much needed revenue to the collection holders and  reduce the cost to maintain staff to handle the increasing load of requests.  This is a win/win situation for all parties concerned.

Our goal and objective will be to find the most appropriate partner institution for you and to  assist your institution in negotiating the preliminary details of an agreement to suit your needs.

Susan and Joyce's combined talents are known throughout the industry as they created  partnerships for portraying data in powerful ways to assist the genealogy researcher. They have been proponents of collaborating with data providers and archival resources by developing a win/win situation for all parties involved. They believe there should also be ways to offer a revenue stream for the data holders by placing actual records behind an online order system while offering searchable indexes for locating these records.

Susan and Joyce are committed to finding the right fit for your material and assisting you in negotiating the best possible relationship with the data providers. Further information is available at www.susaneking.com.

If you have any holdings you would like to discuss, please click on the Contact Us underneath the Data tab.

Susan E. King is the Founder and President Emerita of one of the early and successful social networking organizations in the field of genealogy. JewishGen, formed in 1987, emerged from her leadership as a world-class institution with a user base spanning the globe.

Susan continues her work in the field of genealogy as a professional genealogist, radio talk show host, "Where genealogy and spirit connect," and as a columnist on genealogy for The Examiner.

Joyce Field lives in West Lafayette, IN and has been actively involved in Jewish genealogy in general for over 14 years and with JewishGen specifically since 1997, when she assumed the role of Yizkor Book Translations Manager. The first translation went online in October 1997. In 2002 the Yizkor Book Project received the IAJGS (the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy Award.

Joyce became a JewishGen Vice President of Research in August 1999 and managed the Holocaust Database and JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) in addition to the Yizkor Book Project as Vice President, Data Acquisition. In these roles she forged relationships with many major archives worldwide.

In August 2009 Joyce was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by IAJGS for her singular contributions to Jewish genealogy.

Joyce left JewishGen at the end of December 2008. She and Susan King have now joined forces to represent the broader world of genealogy.