Genealogy Libraries - 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Week #8

Week #8 – Genealogy Libraries: Genealogy libraries (and dedicated departments in regular libraries) are true treasures in the family history community.  Tell us about your favorite genealogy library. What or who makes it special?

If I had to choose a favorite library for genealogy, it would be my local Orange County, FL public library. They have a large genealogy section in their downtown branch, but what I've made the most use of is the at home access to Heritage Quest. Heritage Quest has the US Census, PERSI, and a large collection of online family history books. I've made some discoveries in the Heritage Quest census that didn't turn up in other online searches, so it's proved to be a valuable resource.

I am a long distance from the areas where my ancestors lived, so I can't say that I have a favorite genealogy library to visit in person. Whenever I encounter a new location, I search for a local library website to see what resources they might have online. Many libraries have searchable databases that are specific to that region and I've been able to request copies of obituaries and newspaper articles for a small fee. A recent example is the Northern Kentucky Newspaper Index, made available through the Kenton County Public Library in Kentucky.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2012) that invite genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more.