Name of your website?Genealogical Research Society of Northeast Pa., Inc.
Your name?
Joe Bryer
Your Location (city, etc)
Peckville
Please give us a short summary of your website?
An all-volunteer genealogical society dedicated to preserving and recording the lives of our stalwart northeast Pennsylvania. We have, as our goal, to computer-index the names of every person who ever lived, wed, worked or died within a six county area of northeast Pennsylvania. To that end we have, in twelve years, computer-indexed more than 400,000 of our ancestors---only 2.4 million more to go. A great portion of our data is not found anywhere else.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
To share our knowledge with others and to provide a clearing house for genealogical information.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
1996. The present site began in 2003, I believe.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
It is the name of our society.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
We offer a query page..Our newsletter is in pdf format so anyone can read it..we also have a monthly ezine. The graphics are clear and inviting.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
We would like to invite more volunteers to help us add more data to our database, This would mean we have computer indexed the names of every person in a six county area of northeast Pa.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
We are an all volunteer society. No wages to pay. All monies are used to increase our value to the genealogical community. In twelve years we have moved from 4 members in Lackawanna County to more than 1000 members in 45 counties and three foreign countries..all with roots in northeast Pa. We moved from a spare bedroom in a members home to a 6,000 square foot building we own.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
We would upgrade our computer system..we have dos database...Window 95 and antiquated microfilm readers/printers. We would digitize all our holdings.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
A question I often ask myself. We have been more than a little fortunate to attract knowledgeable volunteers who share our love of genealogy. I suspect our positive atmosphere helps us attract the right kind of volunteer.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Living from hand to mouth for the first seven years was scary. Now, we are thought of a viable organization with an exciting future.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Buying this building. Banks turned us down for the mortgage because we did not have a salaried executive. It was our past history of paying our bills on time and the fact that one bank would consider the mortgage if we put $20,000 down..when we had less than $2,000 in saving. An e-mail to our members (many I never met) asking for a donation so we could purchase a permanent home resulted in $20,000 plus in two weeks. The banker became a believer and we got our mortgage..
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
By far the webpage. Second is our newsletter. 3rd would be our research center with all of our holdings. Lastly would be our brochure program.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
We get more search request and members renew on the webpage. The quick results by those who use our webpage means more revenue for us.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
10 years...probably won't drop it.
What is your website address?
Genealogical Research Society of Northeast Pa., Inc.
