July 28, 2014

Incredible resources in your public library!

One of the best things that happened to me today was the discovery of the rich online offerings of the Wake County Public Library!

I had no idea the number of wonderful databases I could access via the library site.  My favorite at the moment is Heritage Quest. You can access many of the databases on Heritage Quest that are available on Ancestry, except for one that is particularly of interest to me.

PERSI (Periodical Source Index) is the largest subject/people/places index in genealogy and local history. It was created by the wonderful folks at the Allen County Public Library which has long been a mecca for genealogists. PERSI indexes articles in 11,000 journals and periodicals including those published by local and national genealogical societies. 

Don't have a membership with your local or county genealogical society? Miss receiving their publications with relevant information about your areas and surnames of research? No problem! PERSI can peruse the index of journal articles for you. For example, when I searched on "Granville County, NC" in PERSI, I got hits on a boat load of articles in the NC Genealogy Society Journal and the Granville County Genealogical Society's Granville Connections. Plus lots of other local journals. Jackpot!

I remember using printed volumes of PERSI when I was in high school and college, but I really haven't paid much attention to it (or obviously to my local library) in the time I've been researching ancestors. Big Mistake!

So! Log on to your local library right now to get a good look at all the awesome resources you're missing out on. In Wake County, NC, you'll need your library card number to access. That's probably the case in other counties too.




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