IDGenWeb Project

a part of the USGenWeb Project

IDGenWeb Project - Volunteers

IDGENWEB
CURRENT & PROSPECTIVE VOLUNTEERS

If you are currently one of our project volunteers, or would like to be, you've come to the right place! We love our volunteers, and the visitors to our websites have told us they deeply appreciate the service we render to them.

About the IDGenWeb Project

IDGenWeb is made up of a group of volunteers who are committed to the goal of providing free genealogical data and resources on the Internet for researchers with ancestry in Idaho. One becomes a member by being appointed as the coordinator of a local project. Each of these coordinators is responsible for one or more county websites. Although there is no hard and fast rule about how many counties one individual can be responsible for, in order to ensure sufficient time to develop their sites, this number may be limited by the State Coordinator. If one is dismissed or resigns as coordinator for their last assigned county, they are no longer a project member. In the future, there may be other local projects that are not tied to a single county, and coordinators of those projects or websites will also be IDGenWeb project members.

Current Counties Available for Adoption

We are looking for enthusiastic county coordinators. Read through the other material on this page to determine if such a responsibility is a good fit for you. Then, if you have some knowledge about one of the vacant counties and are interested in "applying" for the job of county coordinator, let the State Coordinator know. You needn't be located in or near a county in order to apply, although some ancestral connection and some knowledge about how to do research in that county is the norm. If you are interested in a county but don't see it listed, you can ask to be placed on the waiting list should that county become available in the future. In the near future, the waiting list will be publically posted.

  1. Adams
  2. Benewah
  3. Boundary
  4. Butte
  5. Custer
  6. Fremont
  7. Gooding
  8. Jefferson
  9. Latah
  10. Madison
  11. Owyhee
  12. Shoshone
  13. Teton

We have other counties that are being temporarily coordinated as special assignments. If you have a special interest in one of the following, you can notify us of that. Once some needed repairs have been made, these counties may be moved to the "vacancy" list. Some may be retained by those with the current special assignment.

  1. Adams

County Coordinator Requirements & Suggestions

The following rules and suggestions have been adopted within IDGenWeb.

Coordinator Requirements:

The following are requirements for local coordinators (LCs) within The IDGenWeb Project who are often referred to as county coordinators:

Project Membership:

LCs are appointed by the State Coordinator (SC) based on expressed interest and capabilities of the potential LCs and the SCs judgement as to whether they will be a productive project member. The SC agrees not to dismiss LCs without cause or without notice. In the event that an LC fails to follow these requirements, they will be alerted of corrective actions that are required in order to prevent their dismissal and will be allowed at least two weeks to come into compliance with these requirements before action is taken. In the event that a dismissed LC objects, invoking the grievance provisions of these requirements or of the National Grievance Committee, no permanent assignment of their county or counties shall be made to another LC pending final resolution of their grievance.

Other State Project Officers:

Other state officers, such as Assistant State Coordinators (ASCs), shall be defined and appointed by the SC as needed.

Elections:

At least every two years an election shall be held for SC, unless the current SC desires to continue and no other candidates for this office express interest. Those elections shall be held during October of odd numbered years, with the term of the SC beginning on November 1st. LCs that have been serving at least 30 days are authorized to vote, with a single vote for each LC no matter how many counties they currently have assigned. In the event that 1/3 of the LCs currently authorized to vote call for an election to consider replacing the SC without waiting for the next scheduled election, an election shall be held within 3 months if there are any interested candidates. All communications relating to elections shall take place on the official Idaho Coordinators mailing list, except for actual voting, which shall take place in secret using either the USGenWeb Election Committee or independent tellers selected for each election.

Grievances:

If any problem results in a LC being dismissed by the SC, the dismissed party has the right to have any objections to dismissal being heard by a group of their peers. That hearing group of 3 individuals shall be selected by the entire set of LCs who desire to take part after receiving three nominations from the SC and three from the dismissed LC. One member of the hearing group is to be selected from the SC nominations, one from the dismissed coordinator's nominations, and one from the group of LCs not so nominated. That group shall hear the evidence from both parties in private and will recommend to the full group of LCs that they either confirm or overturn the dismissal. The final decision shall be by majority vote of all coordinators voting.

USGenWeb Bylaws and Guidelines:

LCs must comply with the current USGenWeb Bylaws. They must also comply with the current set of CC Guidelines except for those which are specifically stated as "recommended," which are optional.

Content:

LCs must regularly maintain their websites so that:

  • Additional content is added somewhere on the website at least quarterly
  • Newly submitted data is posted in a timely manner
  • Broken links are researched and repaired at least quarterly
  • Communication:

To ensure good communication within the state, and with our visitors:

  • All LCs must be subscribed to the state coordinator's mailing list.
  • Through that list, LCs must check in during the first week of each month to verify that they are still present and functioning.
  • All LCs must provide their name, address, phone number and email address to the SC. The addresses and phone numbers are to be retained privately and used by the SC only when necessary if communication has otherwise broken down.
  • LCs must identify themselves at their website and must provide a way through their website for visitors to make contact with them and with the State Coordinator.
  • LCs must respond to email messages from site visitors and from members of the state leadership team in a timely manner.

Appearance:

LCs may design their websites as they wish, as long as they:

  • meet the USGenWeb requirements (see Section IX of the USGenWeb Bylaws and the USGenWeb County Guidelines)
  • include an authorized state logo on their home page
  • link to the state home page
  • and meet any other current requirements spelled out in these pages

Hosting:

  • The state project will provide a location where LCs may host their websites at no cost, if they wish.
  • LCs may be invited from time to time to contribute to the cost of the state project web host provider, but they will NEVER be required to do so.
  • LCs may host their websites wherever they wish, whether it be at Rootsweb, USGENNET, the state provided hosting, or their own personal account.

Revisions of Requirements:

While we will seek to obtain a consensus of all coordinators when revising these requirements, if revisions are needed and consensus can not be reached, a 51% or greater majority of qualified and voting coordinators may implement revisions to these requirements.

Coordinator Suggestions:

The following are suggestions that we have found add value to your websites or your experience within The USGenWeb Project, but they are not presently requirements of coordinators (LCs):

Notification of Website Updates:

There are a number of ways you can let your visitors know what has been recently updated at your site. It is recommended that you implement one or more of the following, or an alternative approach:

  • Include update dates on all pages, or on pages that change frequently
  • Include a “What's New” or “What's Changed” page highlighting updated information
  • Highlighting recently updated pages in a site map
  • Placing informative icons next to links to the updated resource

Search Engine:

To improve the ability of your visitors in finding information at your site, it is recommended that you include the ability to search your pages. This can be readily done using free search engines such as FreeFind, PicoSearch, and Google Custom Search. Note that there is a state-wide Google Custom Search box on every page of the IDGenWeb state site.

Other Links:

It is suggested that you consider including links to the following somewhere within your county website, in addition to those required by USGenWeb or the requirements above (maybe include current URLs):

  • USGenWeb pages for adjacent counties
  • The USGenWeb Archives index page
  • IDGenWeb Archives index page
  • Canada GenWeb sites of adjacent provinces and counties
  • Idaho Migration Project index page
  • World GenWeb
  • Local genealogical & historical societies, libraries with genealogical materials, and museums

Coordinators are recommended to register, vote in national elections, encourage good candidates to run for national and state offices and to run themselves if they have the interest and time. Full details about the national elections, along with much other useful information about how to be an effective coordinator are available at the USGenWeb Volunteer web pages. Please review and take advantage of the information there.

Revisions of Suggestions:

Any coordinator may propose revisions to these suggestions, and changes may be made to them at any time by the State Coordinator and anyone authorized by the SC, with advance notice to the state’s local coordinators.