WieWasWie

WieWasWie
Name	WieWasWie
Type	Genealogical database
Country	Netherlands
Launched	2009
Language	Dutch
Owner	Stichting WieWasWie
Url	nie

WieWasWie

WieWasWie is a Dutch online genealogical database and search portal linking civil registers, parish records, and archival inventories. It aggregates digitized records from provincial archives, municipal archives, and church repositories to support research into births, marriages, deaths, and population movements across the Netherlands. The platform collaborates with archival institutions and professional organizations to provide structured access to historical registers for researchers, historians, archivists, genealogists, and family historians.

History

WieWasWie developed from early 21st-century digitization initiatives involving provincial archives such as Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Utrecht, Groningen, Limburg and Overijssel. Key partners included national institutions like the Nationaal Archief (Netherlands) and regional bodies such as the Stadsarchief Amsterdam and Gemeentearchief Rotterdam. The project emerged alongside European programs in cultural heritage digitization and interoperable metadata standards promoted by organizations like Europeana and the International Council on Archives. Funding and governance drew on foundations and consortia including the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and municipal councils in projects similar to initiatives by the Rijksmuseum and Museum Boerhaave. Over time, collaborations expanded to include church repositories such as the Kerkarchief Hapert and private digitization efforts undertaken by societies comparable to the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie.

Services and Features

The service provides indexed records for civil registration, baptismal and marriage registers, and burial entries, with search filters for names, dates, and locations similar to features offered by platforms like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, and the Open Archives Initiative. Users can browse scanned images, transcriptions, and metadata records with links to holding institutions such as the Regionaal Archief Alkmaar, Regionaal Archief Tilburg, and Toegangsnummer-style inventories maintained by archives including the Historisch Centrum Overijssel. Advanced search options resemble query tools used in projects by the Netherlands Institute for Art History and archival catalogs of the Stadsarchief Utrecht. The portal supports export of results for offline analysis in formats used by genealogy applications like Gramps and research tools comparable to Geneanet.

Data Sources and Coverage

Primary data derive from civil registers (Burgerlijke Stand) and church registers (Doop-, Trouw- en Begraafboeken) held by municipal and provincial archives such as the Gemeentearchief Den Haag, Provinciale Staten, and repositories like the Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden. Coverage spans periods from Napoleonic civil registration reforms to 20th-century municipal records, paralleling datasets in collections at the Nationaal Archief (Netherlands) and holdings referenced in works about Dutch demography such as research by Meertens Instituut. The database indexes population registers (Bevolkingsregisters), emigration lists comparable to materials in the Dutch Emigration Records, and notarial records found in archives like the Netherlands Society of Genealogy-type collections. Its scope depends on digitization priorities set by archives including Het Utrechts Archief and cultural heritage projects similar to Project Gutenberg in the digitization ethos.

Access, Search and Subscription Models

Access models combine free searching with paid or institutional subscription tiers, echoing hybrid approaches used by services like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. Basic queries often return index entries, while image access or advanced search features may require registration, subscription, or institutional access through partner archives such as Stadsarchief Amsterdam or consortia modeled after the Digital Public Library of America. Corporate and academic subscriptions mirror licensing frameworks seen at universities like Universiteit van Amsterdam and research institutes including Leiden University. The portal supports API-style data interchange practices similar to those promoted by the Open Archives Initiative and metadata harvesting approaches used by Europeana.

Privacy, Legal Issues and Copyright

Legal and privacy constraints reflect Dutch and European legislation, notably frameworks akin to the Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens and the General Data Protection Regulation administered by the European Commission. Copyright for scanned images and transcriptions follows agreements with rights holders—municipal archives, church institutions, and private collectors—comparable to licensing models negotiated by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and cultural institutions such as the Rijksmuseum. Sensitive recent records remain subject to closures under archival access rules resembling those applied at the Nationaal Archief (Netherlands), and dispute resolution can involve entities like the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Archivarissen or legal bodies such as the Dutch Data Protection Authority-style regulators. Terms of use and takedown procedures align with practices adopted by platforms like Europeana and database providers including Ancestry.com.

Reception and Impact

The portal has been cited by amateur and professional genealogists, historians, and local history societies similar to the Nederlandse Genealogische Vereniging and regional historical centers such as the Historische Vereniging Het Noord-Brabantse Landschap. It has influenced research published in journals and outlets analogous to Tijdschrift voor Sociale Geschiedenis and reference works produced by institutions like the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie. Academics at universities including Universiteit Leiden, Universiteit van Amsterdam, and Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam have used aggregated indexes for demographic and migration studies, contributing to exhibitions and projects at museums like the Rijksmuseum and archives showcased by Europeana. User communities coordinate through platforms akin to Facebook, forums similar to Reddit, and societies like the Genlias-style associations to share transcriptions, citations, and family trees.

Category:Databases Category:Genealogy