Add Your Information

You probably know more than anyone else (or at least than anyone else using this site!) about the places you have lived, worked, or traveled; about the languages you speak; and about the peoples you were born into or have worked with. Use to share what you know! Some ideas for uploads:

• Photos of places and peoples where you have lived or worked
• Data for the Database in spreadsheets, database files, etc.
• People profiles, field reports, a theses, dissertations, article or books
• Hard-to-find or out-of-print item (scanned)
• Video or audio recordings of that have been helpful in your work

Notes:

• Uploaded material requires cataloging and/or data conversion by our staff and volunteers before appearing in the Mission InfoBank. This may require between a day and several weeks.
• If others have been involved in the production or publication of the material you are considering uploading, make sure you have obtained their permission before doing so.

Other ways to add to the site

• If you see an incorrect data value in the Database, and know the correct information, click the data value to see what other observations are available. If you still don't see the correct data, use the "Click here to add an observation" link at the bottom of the Cell Detail page (you must be logged in to do this)
• If you think there are additional columns, rows, or whole tables of data we should add to the database, use the Data Type/Row/Column Suggestions form to suggest improvements, particularly if you can suggest where we can get the needed data.
• If you have valuable material that exists only in print, film, or tape, and don't have scanning/conversion capability, talk to Bill Dickson (see below). We may be able to find volunteers to help with converting the information

Suggest Improvements

The Mission InfoBank is a very complex site. We are sure you will find ways of looking at data that we never imagined in our testing, including some that don't work. If you encounter problems with specific areas of the site that you can describe in some detail, please use the Problem Report form. You may use the General Comments form to make general suggestions, or the Database Structure Suggestions form to make very specific suggestions about the Database. If you have ideas that the forms don't handle well (or if you just dislike online forms), contact Bill Dickson at +1-719-531-3599 ext 592, +1-719-548-7459 Fax, or admin©missioninfobank.org.

Volunteer

There are vast treasures of first-rate research material waiting to be found and made available via the Mission InfoBank. Ultimately, the quality and comprehensiveness of material in the InfoBank is limited only the availability of people to gather that material and get it into usable forms. You could help in any of the following ways:

• Locating material for the Library and Database
• Obtaining needed permissions
• Scanning print materials
• Cataloging Library items
• Converting or entering data for the database
• Responding to user questions, submissions, and suggestions
• Monitoring and maintaining the system for reliability and performance
• Improving the Web software to make information more accessible and understandable

Use the Volunteer form to start the discussion of how you might be interested in helping.

If you are a serious web software developer who wants to help, we have some serious challenges for you, including:

• Improving classification algorithms for mapping
• Adding vector PDF, Flash, and other map export formats
• Adding multivariate, time series, and other charting options
• Improving user control of source and date selection
• Monitoring and improving system performance
• Extending search capability to include the database and library document contents

Other enhancements will undoubtedly occur to you as you use the site. We have a safe, version controlled test environment where you can work at your own pace and try changes before making them live on the system. Use the Volunteer form to let us know how you might like to help.

Contribute Financially

You may contribute financially to the improvement and ongoing operation of the Mission InfoBank. Go to Global Mapping International's Donation Page and choose "Mission Research on Web" as your project preference.