yellowlights

Yellow lights are specialized finding aids used in the field of genealogical research, particularly in working with Scandinavian social media images and documents. The term is derived from the color of the prints themselves, which are typically produced on yellow paper. The practice of creating and using yellow lights begun in the late 19th century, primarily in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries.

Yellow lights were created by inserting a colored tablet into the printing press or photocopier, which would stain the resulting copies a yellow hue. This was done for a variety of reasons, including color-coding, clarity, and space saving. In the context of document preservation and organization, yellow lights were often used to flag copies that had been made specifically for research purposes or were otherwise important.

Due to their historical significance, yellow lights often contain valuable information and can be an important resource for family historians and researchers. Because of the simple information contained on the back of yellow-light prints, they are considered very credible information. However, they may not be as readily accessible as other source materials, as they can transcribe information on faded or poorly copied texts.

Researchers often rely on yellow lights to supplement their own research and gather information from various contributing sources. They can be found in archives, libraries, and family history society collections, among other places. For individuals tracing their ancestry in Scandinavian countries, they offer a tangible link to the past, containing a tangible record collected by others before necessary with a valuable artifact.