1. Help family history and other researchers by email, free of charge.
2. Provide and maintain an online presence, including our central web site and searchable database, all free of charge.
3. Preserve for posterity by transcribing as much data as possible.

All information is provided to researchers on the understanding that transcripts are, at best, a secondary source and only a guide. As errors may occur, original documents should always be checked.

OPCs collectively consider possible copyright, data protection and privacy issues.

PRESERVE

In order to preserve an OPC's work, records donated to our database (C-PROP) will remain online indefinitely and be passed on to a subsequent OPC for that specific parish. Error corrections will be made, when these are notified and confirmed. Copyright remains with the transcribers, so they can donate to whichever other free-to-use resource they choose, and OPCs should not publish the transcripts (in whole or in part) without permission.

Additionally, OPCs may choose to maintain websites for their own parish(es) or combine with others to provide a site which covers related areas; others might create parish reconstructions.

GROUP STRUCTURE

Volunteers perform the following roles:

• Co-ordinator: notes and publicises via the OPC List which parishes have active volunteers and which are available for adoption; recruits and appoints new volunteers with discretion; advises OPCs of issues and changes; co-ordinates OPCs views and implements the majority where necessary, assisting with any problems that occur; co-ordinates with the Database Administrator, Webmaster and List Administrator regarding any changes to parishes; arranges the appointment of the Webmaster, Database Administrator and List Administrator as and when these posts become vacant.
• Webmaster: maintains the pages containing the list of active OPCs, their websites and other data at the request of the Co-ordinator and the relevant OPCs.
• Database Administrator: on behalf of the OPC Group, and in cooperation with a small team, maintains and develops the database website; liaises with OPCs and manages volunteer transcribers; deals with the transfer of LDS films to both OPCs and volunteer transcribers; receives, checks and uploads donated files; updates the coverage pages; publicises to researchers the progress
  being made (on mailing lists and social networks).
• Error Checker (1): deals with our online error reporting system
• Error Checker (2): compares transcripts against originals to help reduce human errors.
• List Administrator: maintains our mailing list which allows the co-ordinator to communicate with ALL OPCs and for OPCs to communicate with the Co-ordinator and their fellow OPCs. Membership is essential to a successful project.

If a particular record does not appear in the current WiP list as being transcribed by anyone, the coordinator or the database administrator should feel able to pass that record to one of our keen transcribers to be dealt with, unless the OPC for the parish in question has indicated a wish to transcribe the records for that parish, and has donated a file to our database within the past 12 months.

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you are interested in becoming more involved with the OPC project or have further questions, please contact our Co-ordinator, Diane Donohue by email. If you are looking for research help then follow this link to the Parish Index.