The Hampshire Family Historian | Vol.48 No.4 | March 2022

Member’s article

A Volunteer’s point of view

I started volunteering at the new HGS Research Centre when it opened in August 2021. I liked it so much that you will now find me there most Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have been a member of HGS for many years and often thought about visiting the research centre in Cosham but never got there. I had even considered being a volunteer but never did anything about it. So, when the call went out for new volunteers, I decide to give it a try. Firstly, there was a half day induction visit. We were given a tour of the record office, met some of the record office staff and were given an idea of what the role of a volunteer might be like. The truth was that no one knew exactly how this new venture was going to work out. At that point there was still plenty of unpacking to be done and on my first day as a volunteer I was set to work unpacking books, identifying those which were on the existing catalogue and finding those which needed to be catalogued. Everyone was very welcoming and by the end of the day I already felt like a member of the team. My next shift was on the HGS desk in the HRO research room. We aim to always have two volunteers at the desk, and I was paired up with a more experienced volunteer to show me the ropes. I had more questions than answers but there was always someone else to ask, and sometimes it was more appropriate to pass the query on to the record office staff. I soon found I was really enjoying interacting with members of the public. Sometimes the research desk gets very busy, at other times we go all day without anyone needing help. In the quiet times it is possible to do some of your own research, however,

there are usually lots of other tasks which can be done at the research desk. This week I did some research for a lady in Australia whose family originate from Titchfield. It’s now nearly six months later and I really do feel part of the team. I have answered lots of varying queries from helping people who are just starting out on family history research to assisting more experienced researchers with specific questions. When I wasn’t needed on the research desk, I carried on helping with cataloguing of books and through that learnt the basics of using an Excel spreadsheet. Since then, I have been given my own project to update the catalogue of unwanted Birth, Marriage and Death certificates. That became a bigger task than anyone imagined, because I found we have many more certificates than those which appear on the current database, so I had to enlist the help of other volunteers. We can often be found sitting together at the research desk, one working on marriages and one working on deaths, helping each other to decipher difficult handwriting. Every day as an HGS volunteer brings a new challenge. I have gained a lot of knowledge and learnt some new IT skills. On a more personal note, it’s been a real benefit to be out in the real world again and interacting with real people rather than faces on a zoom call. So, if like me you might be thinking about volunteering why not give it a try. We still have plenty of tasks to suit all abilities. You can just come for half a day or a whole day, once a week or once a month if that’s all the time you can spare. Alternatively, why not just visit us on a Tuesday or Thursday to see what the Research Centre has to offer. Sue Stannard HGS Member # 10779

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