As well as their names, the index located them in a specific place and time, giving the source of the information and where you can access the material for further research. At a time when most indexes tend to be too brief, this one seems to have considered everything you will need to know. Thomas estimates that newer local histories run from 400 to a thousand pages each and most of these contain lots of specific family histories. In addition to local histories, the index includes archival files of various kinds, government documents, maps and newspaper indexes. The SGS has a network of volunteers to keep the SRI growing.
Every entry is verified and then re-checked to ensure accuracy.
The initial data entry is generally done by people at home with some working directly to disk, but some laboriously transcribe by hand and then the data entry is done by someone else. The toughest job is actually extracting the material. Thomas says that some volunteers reckon that it takes five hundred hours to index one of these huge local histories. Currently the index contains more that 1,100,000 names. Considering the labour involved and the excellent information it contains, this is remarkably inexpensive.