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How to Use a Genealogy Library
There are many types of genealogical libraries and repositories where the family historian can find wonderful information to add to their work. Each genealogical or historical society maintains a collection of materials pertaining to their locale. Major universities archive original documents and raw data, making it available to all researchers. National research facilities, such as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT, Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN, and Mid-Continent Public Library Genealogy & Local History Branch in Independence, MO, offer many resources to the genealogy patron. There are certain steps one can take to ensure a positive outcome from a visit to any genealogy library. First, become familiar with the library through the Internet. Many genealogical repositories have a website that shows location and contact information, hours of operation and materials available. Rootsweb.com provides free web space to societies and many have taken advantage of this resource. Repositories belonging to the National Union Catalog Manuscript Collection (NUCMC) make their holdings available for searching on “Archives USA”, a database accessible in many public libraries. Larger libraries put their collection catalogs on-line for easy access. Reference books can be found by searching for a surname, a location or a subject such as the Civil War, Native American research or church records. Be sure to make a hard copy of the information and take it to the library. If the library does not have a website, contact information can be found in several address books available to genealogists:
Handybook for
Genealogists, 10th edition, Everton Publishers, Draper, UT, 2002 Call the library before going to visit. Ask about parking, copying costs, hours, directions and special rules. Ask them to send any brochures that explain these things in detail. Ask about the collection. Is there a specific focus to the collection? Are the materials available in open stacks or will personnel bring the materials to a reading room? Are there facilities for laptops? Are scanners, digital cameras, and research materials allowed in the research area? If planning for a whole day or several days, are there restaurants or hotels close by? Once at the library, ask someone on staff to give you a quick tour of the facility. Look for information at the front desk that will help in locating materials. Most places print brochures or pathfinders to help patrons with researching and using the materials available at their locality. Go through the information gathered before the trip and look into those records first. Leave time during the visit to look for materials not cataloged on the website or mentioned in the library brochures. Sometimes the best material is hidden in unexpected places. Look into the microform collections held by the library. Many libraries will have local vital records, courthouse information and local newspapers on microfilm or microfiche. There are usually locally created indexes to this material. Larger libraries will have collections pertaining to a wider geographic area. There may be state and federal records available, such as census records, military indexes, Congressional and Executive Branch documents, passenger lists and Civil War unit histories. Many public libraries are now making databases available to their patrons. These can provide valuable access to old newspapers, maps and indexes not available to individuals. Purchasing a membership to an out-of-town library will allow the patron to search some of these from their home computer. Some smaller society libraries still rely on 3x5 card indexes. One card collection indexed all the surnames found in the reference books in the library collection. Another contained all the names from the local newspaper from the early 1800’s to the present. Genealogists still use these cards to contact others doing the same surname research. Maps found in the local library can provide a wealth of information. Plat maps, cemetery maps and topographical maps are just a few of the materials that could be available. Check the filing cabinets tucked back in the corner. Here newspaper clippings, correspondence and donations of personal research are filed away. Some of these vertical files are indexed, but most have to be searched by hand. Most regional genealogical or historical societies publish some kind of periodical. Many of these periodicals list the holdings or the acquisitions of the society library. Searching PERSI (Periodical Source Index) maintained by Allen County Public Library can lead the researcher to information not published anywhere else. If a family stayed in one locality for generations, a subscription to that society’s periodical will be beneficial. Of course, the best resource in any library or repository is the staff. They are intimately familiar with the library collection and can direct the patron to the materials most pertinent to their research. They usually are well trained in the research process. Remember, though, that many smaller libraries are run by volunteers and the training there may not be as thorough as in a larger library. Many researchers leave a business card or self-addressed stamped envelope as they are leaving. Sometimes a staff member will run across material that was not available when the researcher was in the library and they will send copies to the researcher. Finally, leave a donation. Many libraries and repositories are suffering in these days of budget cuts. Even a small amount shows how much the library is appreciated and helps keep the materials available for other researchers. Using these techniques, the researcher should find many records to further their search for the elusive ancestor. |
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