Interested in Volunteering? Here's How You Can Help!
Volunteering with the NYG&B is a great way to actively support a community dedicated to researching New York ancestors. And there are so many ways to help, whether that be from the comfort of home or at our bustling New York City headquarters—a thorough breakdown of the different ways to volunteer is found below.
If you are new to volunteering with the NYG&B, or have a question about how you can help, first complete our Volunteer Interest Form. Our volunteer coordinator will then contact you within one week.
If you are ready to sign up for a volunteer session, you can do so via our SignUp.com form, which lists out time slots for all upcoming remote and in-person opportunities:
Ways to Volunteer
Digitization and Indexing
Begun in 2017, the New York Digitization and Indexing Project aims to place thousands of new materials online. To date we have indexed more than 50,000 records and digitized more than 86,000. Learn more about the project's current status and upcoming projects.
Digitization of New York Records
As part of our mission to preserve New York history, we actively work on digitizing records and documents. Volunteers doing digitization will be trained on the use of our scanning equipment, image quality control, and best practices for file management.
Our Digitization Center has four digitization stations that we aim to have working on a continuous basis Monday through Friday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM with volunteers working in three or four-hour shifts when possible.
There is also opportunity for volunteers with significant digitization experience to become Digital Project Assistants overseeing the work of volunteers in the Digitization Center.
Indexing of New York Records
Our indexing team adds new records that can be searched online. Indexing can be done in the office or from the convenience of your own home anywhere in the world. Volunteers are given scanned document pages in batches and are asked to complete an indexing form for each batch.
One of example of this type of project is the New York Land Records Indexing Project.
Member and Event Services
Office Administration
Mailings: Enjoy the company of other volunteers and staff as you stuff, seal, and stamp. No knowledge of technology required! Mailings take place on a rolling basis throughout the year and volunteers are called as needed.
Order fulfillment: We need help packing and shipping book orders on a weekly basis.
Reception: We would like volunteers to assist us with front desk reception greeting visitors, accepting packages, and directing calls and emails. Training is provided. A minimum of three to four hours per shift is desired Monday through Friday.
Event and Program Staffing
Help work the check-in table at programs and events, greet guests, and answer questions about the NYG&B.
Record Retrieval
Our volunteer research services team is always looking for volunteers who are experienced in using local repositories across New York State.
Record retrieval involves traveling to a repository and getting a copy or a digital picture of a specific record that a member has identified such as a family file from the Milstein Division of the New York Public Library or a birth certificate at the NYC Municipal Archives.
Reimbursement of subway or bus fare and copy fees associated with a retrieval is provided after receipts are submitted to the volunteer coordinator.