One of my favorite tasks as a genealogist is on-site research. Repositories offer researchers a chance to touch and interpret many amazing documents and relics of our past. As genealogists, we might be there to read a bible belonging to our ancestors, account books of our ancestor’s general store, or perhaps to look at photographs of a particular community.
Even in the era of rapid digitization, the record might still only exist at the archives. In the event that you have to do on-site research and visit a particular historical library, I am providing some tips. These will be particularly helpful for researchers who have mostly worked online and have decided to visit a local repository to seek out more genealogical information.
1. Become acquainted with their online catalog.
Online catalogs are essentially search engines for a repository of documents, digital and textual. Most historical libraries and archives have their catalog in an online database so researchers can view exactly what the museum holds in a collection. You can view them from any personal computer or smart device. You should at least know or be ‘fairly confident’ that they have the records you are looking for.
A term you will need to become familiar with is finding aid. A finding aid is produced when a researcher, either hired or volunteer, has completed an extensive inventory of the collection. The finding aid’s description of the collection are organized by the holding unit (whatever object the documents are stored in) and will include relevant information including physical description and dates.
2. Using the search engine.
Most catalogs are not an every name index and only mention the most prominent individuals in a particular collection. You will have better success if you search for subjects related to your ancestor in some way. Some examples are:
- Location, i.e. Windsor County, Vermont
- Surname, i.e. Freeman family
- Occupational Records, i.e. Salem Maritime Society
- Institutions, i.e. Almshouse
You might not find your ancestor’s name in there, but you could certainly look more into these every day associations and build a much more detailed narrative for your ancestor.
3. Create a “to-do” list for onsite research.
Usually when visiting a library or archival facility, we want to look through multiple items in their collection. I found through my own experience that it is very stressful if you do not have some kind of prepared checklist of sources. Hours are limited and we lose a lot of time going back into catalogs to write down call numbers and other details. Here is an example of a template that I developed:
It is probably the most important tip because it re-enforces a methodical approach to conducting research and will yield a better use of your time.
4. Technology in the Research Room.
Some of the larger and more established repositories, particularly ones that hold rare manuscripts, will prohibit you from bringing in loose leaf papers or note books. In preparation, create a document on your laptop with the information you need for the research project. I like creating periodical reports with all the citations I have collected and then all my references to a particular family are in one place. Family tree software programs also come in handy if you keep your citations stored there.
5. Working with the collections and the staff.
Archivists and librarians are trained to meet the needs of researchers. If it is your first visit to a particular place, I would not suggest visiting when you only have a couple hours. An orientation is often required when you are first-time researcher because these collections are rare and require care when used in research. Don’t be afraid to e-mail the staff ahead of time to tell them about your research interests. You will get a better response if you give them exact references and tell them what your research questions are. Developing research questions ahead of time is crucial because often times the person you are consulting with will have a new perspective and can suggest a source you might not have considered.
I hope these tips help improve your overall experience when doing onsite research for your genealogy. Let me know what tricks you've used with onsite research.
Jake Fletcher is a genealogist and blogger. He received his Bachelor Degree for History in 2013 and is now researching genealogy professionally. Jake has been researching and writing about genealogy since high school using his blog page Travelogues of a Genealogist.
These are great tips! I never go anywhere without my “to-do-list”. It is so easy to get sidetracked in archives 🙂
Barbara