Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy January 2002

Library Resources Online

Finding, searching, and contacting libraries and repositories of genealogical records are three separate functions. Yet, for any one of these three functions, the Internet is the easiest and most cost effective method of doing it. With a few pointers, anyone can be using the Internet as a low cost replacement for an extensive library of reference books and costly long distance telephone calls.

Finding a repository can be accomplished several ways (if one doesn't work, try another):

1. Just type the name of the repository into your web browser's address (location) bar. Your web browser will see that it isn't a valid Internet address and will attempt to find the repository for you. This often works.
2. Go to one of the major web finding tools and search the appropriate place or topic (if you are trying to find a Methodist archive, you may not know where it is, but you could search by topic). The major category finding web sites are:

Searching a repository means searching the holdings and/or catalog of a repository. An increasing number of archives and libraries have some or all of their catalogs available on the Internet. Once you have found a repository using one of the methods above, check out their web site. Look carefully. Catalogs are sometimes obscure links on the site's home page.

Once you've found a repository's catalog, look carefully for search tips, instructions, or help. These are often necessary to conduct a meaningful search. The requirements and strategies for finding something in a catalog of records are almost unique to each library or archive. You need to read the instructions to succeed in your searches. Even if you can find something without reading search tips, you can't be sure that you didn't miss an additional source that would have been important to your research.

Contacting a repository can be done much more efficiently using email. If you have received a message from someone or read something somewhere that told you that the repository had something, copy the text of the message or cite the article to explain what you have been led to expect. Ask your question succinctly, but give enough information to allow the reference staff to respond correctly. Do not send extensive stories and lists of everything you've tried. The reference staff at most repositories do not undertake research anyway, and a long missive just insures that they won't pay much attention to you.

If you have a question about a specific record, such as an illegible or unintelligible place name, scan the record in question and attach it to your email. The reference staff can then intelligently and quickly answer your question.

An oddity of email communication is that you usually get better reference service than you would if you had visited the repository in person. Why? First, the reference person can take the time to ponder your query and answer it as convenient. Second, your question will probably be referred to the staff member who best knows the subject you inquired about. In person, you get the person on the desk, who may not know the particular record type as well as someone who is off duty.

Finally, ask the repository if they have a search service. An increasing number of archives have a service to do X minutes of research into a patron's question for Y dollars (or pounds or ruples or francs...). For example, the Lincolnshire Archives charges 8£ (about $13) to spend up to 45 minutes searching their records. If they do offer a search service, you will need to provide some details, but don't do that until they tell you they have a search service. Typically, you would specify what records you want them to search for whom. For example, you might say I want to find all the children of Joseph and Maria Allbright who were christened in the Market Rasen area between 1840 and 1875. If you have time left, I would also be interested in locating their marriage. The only child I know about was Robert, who was age 4 in the 1851 census.

There are several services that attempt to catalog, list, or index the contents of many repositories. The general idea is that you can search for a family name, company, subject, title, word, or phrase and get results from the catalogs of many different libraries or archives. They are often a project working to combine catalogs.

Metasearch projects include the

The Family History Library Catalog is available online. Note that this version of the catalog is more current than any other form of the catalog available outside of Salt Lake City, Utah (version in the Library itself may be more current). You can search this version of the catalog by place, surname, author, subject, call number (books), or fiche or film number. Consider the following as you use the FHLC online:

• The usual way to find things in the FHLC is by place. Once a record is displayed, click on View Film Notes to get the microfilm number. If there is no View Film Notes button, then the source is not available on film or fiche.
• Use View Related Places. This requires using the level above the one you want (e.g., you want a town, so find the county first—if you want a county, go to the state first). Can’t find Stanton le Vale in Lincoln, England? Just find Lincoln, then click on View Related Places to get a list of all the places in Lincoln mentioned in the FHLC. You will then find Stainton-le-Vale, Lincoln, England (note it has an i in it) in the list of places in Lincoln.
• You may need to use an online gazetteer to know which county a place is in. For example, an FHLC search for Cour d’Alene, Idaho said no such place exists. The USGNS gazetteer told me that "Coer d’Alene" was in Kootenai county. Search Kootenai as the place (Idaho in the second box), then click on View Related Places. It shows that the FHLC spells it Coeur d’Alene (no, Coer d’Alene wouldn’t have worked, either).
• A subject search returns subject headings, not records. Even though only a few subject headings may be returned, the number of records under those subject headings could be in the thousands.
• The subject search itself is literal, not intelligent. Thus, a search for genealogy will yield only 448 hits even though virtual every subject heading in the FHLC has something to do with genealogy. There are only 448 different subject headings that actually contain the word genealogy.

Note that Hytelnet and LibWeb sites are readily found using Cyndi's List or other similar comprehensive site lists.

©Copyright 2001-2 by Alan E. Mann. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part of this syllabus material in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval or any computer bulletin boards, must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.