GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Local History and Genealogy Reading Room Humanities and Social Sciences Division Washington, 1996 HOW TO BEGIN Welcome to the Library of Congress and to the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room. The reading room is open to adult researchers from 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM on Friday and Saturday. It is closed on all major holidays. For a general description of Library policies and practices, see Information For Readers. Careful and systematic use of the genealogy collections of the Library of Congress, one of the world's largest and most complex libraries, should help you retrieve the information which may be available about the history of your family. Reference librarians are available to assist you in your search. To compile your family history is to establish a paper trail from yourself backward in time as far as you can go. This trail will consist of documents that tell of events and activities in your ancestors' lives. Ideally, your first step is to obtain information on doing genealogical research. Most public libraries and large bookstores usually have good introductory books on research methods. These will tell in detail what records to look for, where to search for them, and what kind of information you can expect to find in a given record and/or repository. Your next step may be to interview all the older relatives you can find and write down what they say, bearing in mind that family traditions become distorted with time, and you will need to verify what you hear. Documents such as land records, wills, baptismal records, and certificates of birth, death, and marriage pinpoint an ancestor in place and time, and often give information that will tell you where to look for similar documentation on the preceding generation. For example, your parent's birth certificate may indicate where and when the parent was born and the names of his/her parents (your grandparents). This in turn may suggest where, and for what approximate time period, you can begin your search for your grandparents' marriage records. These records in turn may provide information on the previous generation, and so on, as far back as the records have been kept. When these records are lacking you may be able to fill in the gaps with other sources, such as family Bibles, obituaries, interviews with relatives, or published information in compiled family histories or genealogical periodicals. Most vital records and other primary sources are available only at the state or local level, in town records and county clerks' offices, and for this reason a library may not be the best place to begin your research. LIBRARY RESOURCES Some individuals and societies have published vital records in book form, and whenever you are in a library it is a good idea to determine if it has any published records for the areas in which your ancestors lived. Once you have traced your family back several generations you will have many family names that are relevant to your research, and it is usually at this point that a library's genealogical collection becomes most useful. Following are types of materials at the Library of Congress and at other libraries that may prove useful at the beginning of your research as well as when the search is further advanced. 1. Guides and Manuals: BOOKS which explain how to do genealogical research. These can save you much time and expense. MANUALS on research for a particular ethnic group GUIDES to vital records for United States states and counties, and for many foreign countries DIRECTORIES of addresses of historical and genealogical societies INDEXES to genealogical periodicals. 2. United States City Directories: If you know that an ancestor lived in a particular city, you may find his or her address and sometimes profession and name of spouse in these directories. Check with a reference librarian to identify and locate directories in the Library of Congress. 3. Published Census Records and Indexes Federal population census schedules are at the National Archives and Records Administration, located on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, between 7th and 9th Streets. The Library has only published census materials--the 1790 census, indexes, and selected published abstracts for individual counties. Check with a reference librarian to identify and locate published census records in the Library of Congress. 4. Published Genealogies and Town and County Histories Published genealogies reflect the work on a given family which has been researched and compiled; published local histories provide useful background information, and in some cases clues to new directions for research. 5. The FamilySearch on CD-ROM FamilySearch is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' automated system of family history information. Consult with a reference librarian for information on its use. RESOURCES IN THE LOCAL HISTORY & GENEALOGY READING ROOM CARD CATALOGS FAMILY NAME INDEX (White labels) How to search: Family Name of interest This catalog is a card index to the published genealogies in the Library of Congress. Entries generally are determined by family names found on the title page (usually no more than three), although many cards for other family names have been added. Some additional access for works published or cataloged between 1968 and 1980 may be provided through the Library's Computer Catalog. For works cataloged by the Library since 1980 the Computer Catalog must be searched. All genealogies in the Family Name Index are shelved in the stacks and should be ordered by filling out call slips and submitting them at the Book Service Desk located near the catalogs. ANALYZED SURNAME INDEX (Green labels) How to search: Family name of interest This catalog began as a detailed index to selected genealogies published until about 1910. It was expanded later to include the biographical sketches found in approximately 350 county histories. At present very few books are being analyzed and represented in this catalog. The Analyzed Surname Index was always selective rather than comprehensive, and was never intended to cover every genealogy and/or county history. The last drawer of this index, labeled "Local Histories Indexed," identifies the county histories which are covered. Note: Call numbers found in this index should be verified in the Family Name Index (CS call numbers), or the Local History Shelflist (F call numbers), or the "Local Histories Indexed" drawer. COATS OF ARMS INDEX (White labels) How to search: Family name of interest The Coats of Arms Index provides a guide to illustrations of coats of arms found in books and periodicals in the Library's collections. It covers primarily English and American sources. This catalog should be used in conjunction with two book indexes, Hanns Jager-Sunstenau's General-Index zu den Siebmacherschen Wappenbuchern, 1605-1961 (CR1179.S5J3 LH&G DESK) and the St.Louis Public Library's Heraldry Index, 4 v. (Z5312.S25 1980LH&G). This latter work is found on the shelves opposite the reference desk. Siebmacher's Wappenbuch covers both noble and non-noble families in all German-speaking areas of central and eastern Europe; the Heraldry Index lists over 100,000 coats of arms found in approximately 800 works. U.S. BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX (Pink labels) How to search: Family name of interest This card catalog, which has no recent entries, provides an index to at least one history for each state and to a few regional histories. It differs from the other card catalogs in that an individual's name (Smith, John) rather than a broad heading (Smith family) appears. The first drawer, labeled "Books Indexed," identifies the histories which are indexed. Note: Call numbers found in this index should be verified in the Local History Shelflist (F call numbers) or in the "Books Indexed" drawer. U.S. LOCAL HISTORY SHELFLIST (White labels) The cards in this catalog are arranged numerically, just as the books are found on the shelves, from F1 to F1000. This approach is by subject and includes all those books in the Library of Congress collection which deal with local history of the states (of the United States) and their subdivisions (the towns, cities, counties, and regions). A large white chart, Guide to Materials in United States Local History, is located to the right of the card catalog. This chart gives the range of call numbers assigned to each state as well as the number within that range for each of eleven specific subject areas. If you encounter difficulty in finding a particular state or region, ask a reference librarian for assistance. Note: This catalog covers only those books classified as U.S. local history (class F); many books of a legal, religious, or social nature, which may be of value to genealogical or local history researchers, are classified elsewhere and can be found by using the Main Card Catalog and/or the Computer Catalog. COMPUTER CATALOG Researchers attempting to locate material cataloged by the Library since 1980 must use the Computer Catalog. Instructions for its use are found at the reading room terminals. For additional information or help, or to sign up for classes in the use of the Library's Computer Catalog, consult a reference librarian. GENEALOGICAL INDEXES IN BOOK FORM Several important published indexes to genealogical materials are located on bookshelves and consulting tables in the catalog area of the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room. The following titles are included: Barrow's The Genealogist's Guide Crowther's Surname Index to Sixty-five Volumes of Colonial and Revolutionary Pedigrees Genealogical Periodical Index Jacobus'Index to Genealogical Periodicals Marshall's Genealogist's Guide Munsell's The American Genealogist Munsell's Index to American Genealogies New York Public Library's Book Catalog Newberry Library's Genealogical Index (PERSI) Periodical Source Index Rider's American Genealogical-Biographical Index* Whitmore's Genealogical Guide *Consult a reference librarian if the description of the use of this index is not clear. FINDING AIDS The reference staff of the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room has prepared a number of bibliographies and guides that are useful for researchers. The following items are available in the reading room: Guides for Genealogical Research Surnames Heraldry: A Selected List of References Immigrant Arrivals: A Guide to Published Sources Afro-American Genealogical Research Sources for Research in English Genealogy Telephone and City Directories in the Library of Congress Sources for Research in Welsh Genealogy Sources for Research in Scottish Genealogy Handbooks for Foreign Genealogical Research A Select Bibliography of Works at the Library of Congress on Norwegian-American Immigration and Local History Finding aids for Danish, French, and Irish genealogical research and a guide to genealogical periodicals in the Library of Congress are in preparation. In addition, a bibliography entitled Generations Past: A Selected List of Sources for Afro-American Genealogical Research may be consulted in the reading room. PROCEDURES FOR RETRIEVING MATERIAL CALL SLIPS Fill out one slip for each book, bound serial, or directory to be requested from the stacks. Note: Any catalog card marked LH&G indicates material that is in the reading room and a call slip is not necessary for retrieval. WHAT TO DO NEXT After you have filled out the call slip with information from the catalog card or computer, select a vacant desk, fill in the desk number and your name and address, and submit the slip at the Book Service Desk. Be prepared to show a photo identification or LC user card to the attendant. Either the volume will be delivered to your desk or the call slip will be returned with a report in the lower right corner. If you are not using a desk, mark the slip "Hold" and the book will be held under your name throughout the day at the Book Service Desk. Books may NOT be removed from the reading room. WHAT IF YOUR BOOK IS "NOT ON SHELF"? Your call slip may be returned with a report that the book is "not on shelf." There are many possible reasons for this. First, double-check the call number and bibliographic information for accuracy, completeness, and legibility. You may want to consult a reference librarian for assistance. To inquire further: 1. Re-submit your slip, requesting a check of the Central Charge File (CCF). This will determine if the book is on loan (books having CS and F call numbers do not go out on loan), is in a reference collection, or is on microfilm. The staff will help you interpret the message you receive. 2. Should the response from the CCF read "NC," meaning no charge, you may take the slip to the Special Search Section in Alcove 1, Main Reading Room, where a search will be initiated. MAY BOOKS BE RESERVED? You may reserve five books for three days by obtaining yellow slips from the Book Service Desk, filling out and inserting them in the books to be reserved, and shelving them on the reading room's Three-day Reserve shelves. Reference books may not be reserved. PHOTOCOPYING Photocopying machines are located in the rear of the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room. They can be operated with coins or with a copy card which may be purchased in the copy center, Alcove 8 of the Main Reading Room, 1st floor, Jefferson Building. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES MANUSCRIPTS. Various manuscript collections which have genealogical research value may be examined in the Manuscript Reading Room, 1st floor, Madison Building. Consult a reference librarian in the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room for assistance in identifying potentially useful manuscript materials. MAPS. The Geography and Map Reading Room, Basement, Madison Building, has a collection of maps from all time periods covering all geographic areas. Reference assistance in determining geographic boundary changes is also available. MICROFORMS. Most microforms are viewed in the Microform Reading Room, 1st floor, Thomas Jefferson Building. NEWSPAPERS AND CURRENT PERIODICALS. The Library's collection of newspapers in English and western European languages, in hard copy and microform, is serviced in the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room, 1st floor, (Room 133) Madison Building. Many periodicals published within the past year are also available there. RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS. The word "Office" or "Toner" appearing on some catalog cards refers to the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room, 2nd floor, Thomas Jefferson Building. ***input 01/96 (lk)*** .