Discover More about Your Family Tree at Your Local Library
Love genealogy but not the cost of subscriptions? Your library pays for ancestry databases so you don't have to!
Deep dive into your ancestry with free access to genealogy databases and other resources.
Have you ever wondered where you come from? Do you like going down rabbit holes of information to find the answer you’re looking for? Genealogy is perfect for you! Instead of giving your information away to popular genealogy sites like Ancestry.com, why not look into your family history for free using your local library resources? Here are three ways your library can hook you up with information about your genetic past:
Access a Variety of Genealogy Resources
To start, local libraries have access to tons of information, including books about researching and finding your family’s history. Libraries and librarians always have access to educational resources and can point you in the right direction if you don’t know where to start looking for your origins. Plus, librarians can help guide you through research, which is useful for people unfamiliar with rifling through records.
The library may also let you check out some resources so you can research from the comfort of your home!
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Use Library Database Subscriptions
The local library has your back if you’re looking for database access. If you need access to a specific historical database, digital records, or a private collection, your library will surely have it. Check with your public library for local records and database subscriptions, an academic library for more in-depth databases, and a historical society for specific physical documents.
Visit the Local History Collection
Public libraries are also the best place to go if you want to get in touch with your local historical society. Libraries and historians are closely intertwined, and your town’s public library will always have information about its town’s local history. Obituaries, local newsreels, newspapers, census records, voting records, building blueprints, mailing addresses, and more are all archived in your public library. Each public library has records from a specific town or city. Starting with your local library, work up your family tree by accessing different libraries’ records.
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Got Questions? Ask a Historian!
Remember how we mentioned that librarians and historians are linked? Your local librarian can get you directly in touch with a historian if you ask. Oftentimes, the jobs are intertwined. One of your local librarians might also be in charge of your town records.
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