The Computer Corner

By Duane Stabler (dstabler@bigfoot.com)

Here’s an update from Marty McMahon, who quietly manages much of what the Pixel Server has to offer GR’s

I you haven't visited the library recently, please do. Roger (Ehrich) has made several changes and additions. You can always visit the "changes" list at <http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/library/newstuff> for the latest updates. One thing worth mentioning is the new AHSGR and GRHS sections on the main library page. These areas now include all the unique submitals related to the two organizations. Many new extractions are currently being prepared for posting so keep checking back.

These are the files added in April:

1 Apr 1998 families The Ehresman Chronicles (G. Graham)

18 Apr 1998 sodak 24 SD Cemetery Lists (GRHS)

18 Apr 1998 canada 9 Canadian Cemetery Lists

18 Apr 1998 nebraska Campbell NE, Koch Cemetery List

18 Apr 1998 nodak 16 Hebron ND, Cemetery Lists

18 Apr 1998 history Gnadenfeld and Rudnerweide histories (M. Garbin)

20 Apr 1998 obits 6 Obituary Collections from Alvina Schurr

20 Apr 1998 villages Landau Death Records, 1860-1872

Pixel (or more correctly the Odessa Digital Library) is a data source on the Internet. It can be reached using a Web Browser

at: <http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/library/odessa.html>

It contains in excess of 70 megabytes of data on Germans from Russia. This equates to in excess of 500 books/files. This data has been extracted, assembled, scanned and made available by many GER-RUS researchers for the use of all of us. The H-O-H is an extraction done by Dale Lee Wahl of the Bessarabian church records. It is a list of all the Heads of Households found in those films. Many other resources are available on line within the library. Many of the St. Petersburg films have been extracted; a project is in work to extract the Bessarabian Church records and part of them are already available. Several "Jubilee" books for towns in North and South Dakota are available on line. Lots of info that every GER-RUS should take a look at and hopefully support by assisting in the donation of data.

Most of the extraction files are only indexes of films with enough information to hopefully let you confirm your person is the right one. They are NOT full extractions!!!!! Once you find an entry that looks right, you need to go to the LDS film referenced for confirmation and to get the rest of the information available on the film.

Also as with all extracted data there will be errors. We try to make sure they are a minimum, but we all know how hard it is to read the handwritten script on these films, so look closely at all spellings and don't take the data as gospel. If it looks close, I'd recommend you get the film and confirm the data. Of course my experience says the same is true for all extractions and indexes I've run into including the Census indexes.

This effort is not directly affiliated with any group but works closely with GRHS and AHSGR and much of the data came from those organizations. It was established by and is maintained by a group calling themselves the Odessa group of individuals that wanted to establish a resource for all GER-RUS folks. The Server is provided by Dr. Roger Ehrich at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Just a reminder that once you are viewing a file with your browser it is really loaded into your computer. It is easy to do a save and then you can work on it off-line without being connected to the Internet.

Hope this explains what the "Pixel" or Odessa Library is. There is more information about it's founding and how to use it within the first page of the site. Marty McMahon <martym@gte.net>

Revised 3-7-99 & 7-17-99