WikiProject:Washington State Archives Databases

Current Projects page

Washington State Archives Databases

Purpose

There are 10 spreadsheets in this project and you will add the specific county collection to the corresponding county header on the Wiki county page.

Task List

• Birth Records
• Death Records
• Land Records
• Marriage Records
• Military Records
• Misc Records
• Naturalization Records
• Plat and Survey Records
• Business Records
• School Records

Project Instructions

Part 1 - Add Collection Links to Each County

1. Use this instructions to create the correct database link for each unique county database. Use the additional guidelines in Part 2 for additional guidance for specific task lists.
1a. Select a task list to work on listed above in the Task List heading.

2. There is a different database for each corresponding county, so the database will only be added once.

3. On the spreadsheet you choose, click on the link for the first database you will add to the county page as found in Column C.

4. The Washington state archives website to the collection will appear.

5. Go to the Washington State Wiki page and locate your county on the list of counties farther down on the page. Click on the link to go to the county Wiki page.

6. On the county Wiki page, review the table of contents and click on specific header relating to the database as listed below. Then, Edit Source.

7. Copy the following wikitext and paste it under the header that is found on the task list in Row 1, Column 1, such as Birth Records.

*'''DATE-DATE''' [URL NAMEOFDATABASE] at Washington State Archives - index and images

8. In some headers, there is an additional header of "Online RECORDTYPE Indexes and Records". Place the wikitext listed above directly under that additional header on the county Wiki page.

9. Format the wikitext code for the database by going back to the tab with the database on it and copy the URL.

10. Paste the URL over the wikitext URL.

11. On the tab with the database on it, copy the name of the database and paste it over NAMEOFDATABASE in the wikitext code.

12. If there is a date in the database name, use that date. If it is not there in the title, scroll down the database page to see the dates listed in graph form below the search fields. Add those dates to the database link replacing the words DATE in the wikitext. If no dates could be found, make a note in column D on the task list.

13. Review the other databases listed on the page. Use the following guidelines to edit the list of databases:

• If the same database is already listed on the page, delete it and use your new link.
• If there are other databases under the heading, put the database in chronological order.
• If the other links on the page are not properly formatted according to the Manual of Style, just ignore them. Another project will be fixing them.
• Put any links that don't have dates at the end of the list of links.
  

14. Review the list of databases by clicking on "Show preview" and make sure the new link works.

15. Make any adjustments as necessary.

16. If it looks correct, copy and paste the following in the Edit Summary field, then save the page.

Added WA State Archives link

17. Return to the corresponding task list and put the date you finished by your name and go to the next database.

18. Once the list is complete for the tab, go to the next tab.

Part 2 - Additional Notes

• For the Military Records tab, add the county database directly under the header, Military Records, in chronological order with other databases. This section will be changed later and further databases added.
  
• For Misc Records tab, the headers to be used on the County Wiki page are in Column D.
• For the Plat and Survey tab, add the databases to the list of other land records databases listed in chronological order, if there are any.