Volunteering

Volunteer with us

From preserving collections to welcoming members and the general public into our library, our volunteers work across projects from all over the world. They work across numerous projects from home or on-site keeping in touch via our dedicated volunteering group forum.

We currently have volunteering positions open to members and non-members who can work a minimum of three hours per week. So, if you would like to learn more about genealogy and family history, looking for a new hobby or would like to make new friends, then this is the opportunity for you.

You can find out more about our projects below. If you find a project you're interested in please fill in this form and our Volunteer Coordinator will be in touch. If you have any questions please email: volunteering@sog.org.uk.

"I have been volunteering for SoG for 18 months, firstly on the Great Card Index project, and for the last 6 months on site working with Special Collections. It is great working with a group on a range of collections. I am particularly interested in the way family history, in texts and images, can tell us about social history from emigration to crime. I would recommend these roles to anyone who loves socialising, history and archives." Fiona F

Current projects for volunteers

The Great Card Index
Members and non-members (Home)

Created by society members in the first half of the 20th century, the Great Card Index is made up of over a million handwritten cards. Each containing various items of genealogical information extracted from sources such as parish registers, marriage licenses, will indexes, monumental inscriptions and unique items in the Society’s collections. The cards have been digitised and volunteers extract information from them to make them digitally searchable. This project will make this resource available and searchable online for the first time since its inception over a century ago.

We’re now up to surnames beginning with H and we’re delighted to see card images and index entries for surnames A to C added to our collections system, SoG Explore.

We’re currently looking for volunteers who would like to work from home or on-site. If you’ve used spreadsheets and or Dropbox before that would be an advantage (but don’t worry if you haven’t, we can teach you!) 

It's an indexing project with a twist and volunteers working on it tell us that this project is better than sudoku for keeping the mind sharp!

The Pedigree Rolls Project
Members and non-members (Home)

The Pedigree Rolls are a collection of about 300 boxes containing about 20,000 rolled family tree images, donated to the Society over its 100 year plus existence, which have all recently been digitally scanned. They range from rough working trees to beautiful, artistic pedigrees. We are now transcribing each one, using standard family tree indexing software, and are uploading the images with a detailed, searchable index to our online collection. The finished project will add every name to SoGExplore and make the collection available online for the first time. You can see a small preview sample here.

We are looking for volunteers who are already proficient users of family history software to record their own family history. You will need to interpret a wide of pedigrees and sometimes read challenging handwriting. You don’t need to be a member and you will be working from home so it doesn’t matter where in the world you live. You would work independently, using your own software and at your own pace but we need you to commit to a minimum of  three hours a week and be able to return completed batches of files within about a month.

You’ll get full training and support and we keep in touch regularly via Zoom to share news and experience. This is an exciting opportunity to join us in making this unique material available online for the first time.

SoG Data Online Indexing
Members only (Home)

We have many digitised copies of typescript index resources in SoG Data Online such as parish registers and monumental inscriptions which require indexing so names can be found by researchers more easily. This indexing has a particular emphasis on resources that are not alphabetically arranged.

We have been particularly working on indexing poll books, monumental inscriptions, burials and christenings which are now complete and we're now working on marriages. We are seeing indexes going online into the new collections system, SoG Explore, which is very satisfying.

This project is for SoG members only, since resources are accessed via member login. Previous use of spreadsheets is an advantage. There’s lots of support information available including our volunteer forum. So, it doesn’t matter where you live in the world you can still take part and access support.

Volunteers working on this project are all members of the Society who are interested in improving access to resources for other researchers so there’s lots of opportunity to learn more about the society and family history.

Events volunteering
Members and non-members (Home/Onsite)

The SoG events programme seeks to educate and entertain family historians, providing opportunities to learn how and where to research as well as about the lives of our ancestors.  Our events are also social occasions where genealogists can chat with like-minded people. Since 2020 our events programme has been online reaching SoG members and family historians around the world.

Our online events volunteers are the face of the Society, providing a friendly welcome to attendees and helping anyone technical difficulties using Zoom. They open the Zoom meeting and greet the speaker, admit the attendees using a provided register and read out questions at the end of the talk.

We also host walks and visits in London. Volunteer leaders for these events greet the attendees and check them off on a list.  They liaise with the guide and shepherd the group. As most events will be streamed over Zoom, and on occasion the speaker may be remote, it would be helpful to have some knowledge of using Zoom, but on-site staff may be able to help with this. 

Events volunteers are part of a small, supportive and friendly team. They can choose to host as many or as few events each month as they wish.  Events volunteers are able to book free places on all events that they host, and get to know members from around the world.

General Library Volunteering
Members and non-members (Onsite)

Our library is open to members and the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays where members and the general public can book a space to come in and access our records. We are currently looking for volunteers who can support our general library duties across those days. General duties include shelving, shelf checking, labelling and tagging books, data entry and basic scanning.

If you have previously worked in a library that would be a bonus but we will need people with basic computer skills and available from 10:30 to 16:00 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. This volunteering opportunity is only available on-site at our Wharf Road library.

Archive volunteering
Members and Non-Members (Onsite)

The archives hold material deposited by family historians from the Society of Genealogists’ origin to the present day. This ever-growing body of material preserves the results of their research, as well as family documents that bear direct witness to how people lived.

Each archive collection is different, and may include material as diverse as pedigrees, genealogical notes, certificates, but also family photographs, reminiscences, diaries – all the way to employment letters, school papers, and bills!

Volunteers are engaged in listing, filing and packaging this material, and their work constitutes the foundation of online archive catalogue entries. The ability to read challenging handwriting, an eye for detail, thoroughness and a lot of patience are the distinguishing qualities of our archive volunteers. Experience of family history research is highly desirable too.

As this work is based on physical collections, it requires volunteers to come into our Wharf Road building once a week – currently, on Tuesdays – for at least half a day. Staff work alongside volunteers and are ready to offer support, explain current procedures and answer any questions.

Upcoming projects

Document Collection

For those interested in archive volunteering who require a flexible schedule, or who are looking for a short-term commitment (e.g. 2-3 months), we are developing a new project centered on preserving our document collections and itemizing them for the very first time. An eclectic mix of original documents, research notes, correspondence, period advertisements and much more awaits in nearly every file, making this project particularly exciting for those who enjoy working on a range of different materials.

 IT literacy will be an advantage, alongside the ability to read challenging handwriting.

Volunteers will be required to work on site at Wharf Road; after the initial introductory sessions, they will be free to visit according to their availability.

If you would like to register your interest please send an email to: volunteering@sog.org.uk

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As a member, you can make the most of our resources, access our experts, and find a welcoming community of people interested in family history and genealogy.

We all have roots. Let’s find them together.

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