At our April meeting, PGSNYS President Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz presented an introduction to the Polish genealogy website Genealogia w Archiwach (Genealogy in the Archive), demonstrating how it can be used primarily as digital archive to browse unindexed scans, and secondarily as a database of indexed historical records. The website, which features collections from the Polish state archives in Bydgoszcz and Toruń, as well as their branch archives in Włocławek and Inowrocław, offers the unique feature of allowing users to index individual entries in vital registers, rather than entire books. Julie explained that users can also create profiles of individuals based on historical records, and link related individuals together. Although this feature of the website is still in its infancy, it will become more useful over time as the number of indexed records within the database increases.

Some of our attendees commented,

“[I’m] experienced in searching this database however is been awhile and there appear to be other elements I haven’t used previously to explore.”

“Very fantastic toolbox with actionable resources.”

“I enjoyed the detailed examples-based walk-throughs showing how to stitch together lots of different genealogy resources (e.g. gazetteers, Geneteka, Genealogia w Archiwach, Szukaj Archiwach, etc.)”

“Excellent presentation. Will definitely view the recording!”

The lecture recording and handout are now available on our Meeting Recordings page for members to access, along with English translations of the official users’ guides found on the Genealogia w Archiwach home page, “Guide Book,” and “User Manual for People” (guide to creating individual profiles).