Ancestry Magazine

Your research work at the library will go better if you follow the practical guidelines recommended here.

Yesteryear’s stereotype of the little gray-haired librarian, with her hair in a bun and her eyeglasses perched on the tip of her nose, pacing the library shushing people, no longer exists. The modern librarian is an information broker whose job is to provide us with a wealth of different resources.

In the genealogical research arena, the information and materials we request are often unique from those in other areas of the library. And the questions we ask librarians can often be challenging. But before you run to the librarian for help, consider the following research strategies to becoming an effective library patron.

Come Prepared
Advance preparation is essential to having research success at any library or archive. It seldom pays to just show up at the library with no idea of who or what you want to research.

You’ll want to review everything you’ve compiled about the specific ancestor(s) you plan to research before you leave home. Study the documents. Place everything you know about an individual in chronological order. This allows you to reconstruct the collection of facts about the person’s life so you have a good sense of time, place, events, and historical context. You may also want to make copies of specific documents so you have them for reference when you visit the library or archive. (Don’t take originals.) Or you may choose to print a chart or develop a custom report from your genealogy database to give you a good perspective of your research.

Consider the repository you plan to visit and the information you are likely to find there. Based on the library’s holdings, choose one or two people in your family tree to research, then decide on the specific information you want to discover.

It’s important to have an understanding of the types of records created at the time and place your ancestor lived so you don’t waste time looking for non-existent records. If you don’t know what documentary evidence was created during your ancestor’s time or the government under whose jurisdiction your ancestors lived, your first order of business should be to try to determine these facts. This will help you set your expectations of the documents for which you will be searching. It will also prepare you for the possibility of a search for alternative records.

You can accomplish a substantial amount of this research from home on the Internet, using reputable websites and the historical information and bibliographic references they provide. In addition, there are excellent online historical map collections that can be used to help you check geopolitical boundaries.

Doing advance research at home will better prepare you to set your research goals and to know where and for which records to search at the library.

Use the Online Catalog
Valuable research time can be saved by using the repository’s online catalog. The catalog is your access point to the library’s entire collection. It has a search engine that allows you to search the vast library collection by title, author, keyword, and subject.

In addition, some libraries may have added other things to their catalogs, such as links to digitized images in their holdings and access to databases to which they subscribe or provide access. Each library’s catalog will be a little different so it pays to read the Help information for the catalog and/or the library’s introductory text in the catalog, on t he website, or on a printed handout.

Your ability to quickly and efficiently use the online catalog, whether from home or at the repository, will make you a much more effective researcher. If you can’t find what you are looking for or if your search results don’t make sense, ask a member of the staff to look at them with you.

Learn the Library’s Classification System
Invest some time in learning about the classification system used by the library or archives. This will provide you with an excellent foundation for working with the collections in many repositories.

The majority of public libraries use the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) method of organizing and cataloging collections. In fact, DDC is used in more than 200,000 libraries in more than 135 countries, which means that your knowledge is portable to many of the places you may wish to research.

In libraries using the DDC method, genealogical materials can be found under the 929 series, but other genealogical materials with a more historical context may be organized and shelved in other areas of the 900 series. For example, you might find the general histories of Europe, Central Europe, and Germany filed under 943, while the 970s include the general histories of North America, including Canada, the United States, and Mexico. North America—Southeastern United States is shelved under 975.

Other public libraries use a modified Dewey system for special collections. The collection at the Indian River Public Library System’s main branch in Vero Beach, Florida, for example, uses a modified Dewey system that brings all the materials from the 929 series and other historical materials into the same classification and filing system. If you are searching for materials about Irish research, you will find all of the resources gathered together in one shelving area of the collection.

As you can see, if you don’t know how the books are organized or if you fail to use the online catalog, it is
possible to miss an entire segment of materials important to your research.

Most academic libraries (college and university) use a different organizational scheme for their collection. They use the Library of Congress (LC) Classification System which organizes materials quite differently into classes and sub-classes. For example, you would search under Class CS to locate biographical and genealogical materials. You can compare differences between the DDC and LC organization and classification schemes on the Web.

Archives are a different story altogether. Since their collections tend to be unique, an archives may have implemented a unique classification system. The National Archives and Records System (NARA) in the United States has organized materials into large groups of related materials referred to as Record Groups, and then specific groups of materials are classified in a more granular system within each group. The National Archives (TNA) in England, however, has organized its materials into classes and then sub-classes. Other archives may employ a combination of systems to manage a diverse collection. For example, an archive may use the LC system for its collection of print materials and their own system for the materials that are archived.

Ask about Materials That Aren’t Cataloged
One of the first questions you may want to ask at the reference desk when you enter a library you’ve never visited before is: “Are there items of a historical or genealogical nature that are not in your library catalog?” Don’t be surprised if the answer is yes.

Cataloging is a labor-intensive, and therefore very expensive, activity. A diverse collection of loose papers or maps stored in vertical file cabinets or map case drawers may simply be too cost-prohibitive to catalog. For example, a v ast collection of papers and correspondence by a local historian in one Georgia library occupies a number of filing cabinets, yet there is not a catalog entry concerning this important collection.

Go Easy on the Library Staff
You may be surprised to learn that there are only a few colleges and universities that offer a Masters in Library Science (MLS) degree with instruction on genealogy and family history. So very few library personnel are knowledgeable about genealogical records, materials, repositories, and research. Librarians who are familiar with genealogy tend to be genealogists themselves or have expanded their knowledge of the subject over an extended period of time.

Don’t expect every library or archives employee to know genealogical research methods; it is a specialized field. But there are always some good approaches to use with librarians and archivists who know little about the methods of family history research.
• You don’t need to recount your entire family history to the reference person helping you. He or she only needs limited information to help you find additional resources.
• You should, however, provide specifics about your ancestor’s name, the time period in which he or she lived, and the geographical area in which he or she resided. This will help narrow the area of research.
• Be sure to tell the reference person where you have already searched for information. This will avoid a waste of both your time in covering the same territory again.
• Don’t make the person have to drag information from you. If you’ve prepared yourself for your library visit, determined who and what you are researching, and have some realistic goals, you should be able to articulate what you are seeking.
• If you don’t know the proper term for the type of document or record you want to locate, describe the type of i nformation you are trying to ascertain. Be sure to offer any suggestions for alternative record types that you might be seeking.

Your work with the reference personnel should be a partnership. Recognize that they cannot do your research for you, but that their research expertise and knowledge of available resources may be just the information you need.

Gather Handouts and Brochures
Most libraries with genealogical collections have pamphlets that discuss genealogical research. For example, the genealogy department at the John F. Germany Library in Tampa, Florida, has produced more than a dozen tri-fold handouts about the library’s collection.

The handouts include a map of the collection’s layout and a list of the DDC numbers used there. The library also has handouts describing census and Soundex/Miracode film, immigration passenger list film, “how-to” advice for beginners, ethnic research, available CD-ROM products, and a number of other materials. In addition, brochures about genealogical and historical societies, other nearby libraries, and conferences are available.

Look for materials on shelves or in display racks, and don’t overlook a visit to the library’s website. Many libraries have placed PDF versions of their handouts online.

A great deal of thought has gone into producing authoritative information in the handouts that will introduce you to the collection’s holdings. These materials can provide you with valuable reference information. In addition, once you’ve read them, you can always ask any specific questions you may still have.

Go Beyond the Genealogy Department
Not everything you want or need for your research will be found within the genealogy department. Remember that maps, almanacs, encyclopedias, language and translation dictionaries, histories and biographies, newspaper collections, non -genealogical periodicals, and other items will be in different areas of the library.

Your ability to use the online catalog, understand the classification system, and familiarize yourself with the layout of the facility will enable you to quickly and efficiently locate, access, and use all of the resources available there.

Respect the Material
Genealogical materials are expensive and many of the items are out-of-print, fragile, or otherwise irreplaceable. Unfortunately, some libraries and archives are losing materials to theft and mishandling, and budgets for staff to supervise the collections have been cut. The result is that a number of rare and valuable items have been withdrawn from collections and made available only by appointment, if at all.

Treat each item you use with care and respect. If you notice a damaged item, bring it to the attention of the library staff. Be especially careful with microfilm, documents, the spines of books you photocopy, and the maps and loose papers you may use. You, too, are an active participant in the preservation and conservation of the library’s collections.

Don’t Forget Interlibrary Loan
If you don’t find the item or book you are seeking at the library, remember that most libraries participate in a service called Interlibrary Loan (ILL), which allows one library to request material to be sent from another.

You may find that another library has a book that may be helpful to your research. Your library can initiate an ILL request to borrow a circulating item or even to photocopy a table of contents, index, or specific pages of the book for you. Your librarian can tell you how you can use ILL to extend your research reach, and can make you aware of any costs associated with the service.

Unfortunately, most material in genealogy collections are non-circulating, but so me less unique materials, older editions, and duplicate copies may be placed in the circulating collection.

Use All Available Resources
Don’t forget the full range of resources available to you in your family history research that you may not find at the library or archive. It is important not to discount or exclude anything, and you should be prepared to work all the possible resources in tandem.

Books, websites, mailing lists, courthouses, government agencies, and churches are just a few of the many resources available. Your research will need to include some or all of these resources. You may think of alternative records to search while you’re at the library, but you don’t know how to locate them. You’ll find that the reference librarian can help you locate these alternatives and check your hunches.

Learn More about Library Classification Systems
Do you want to learn the differences between the DDC and LC organization and classification systems?

Go online for a reference for DDC.

Find an overview of the LC System.

George G. Morgan, an internationally recognized genealogy expert, is president of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE), a director of the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), and the president of Aha! Seminars, Inc. He is also the author of How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004).