This week’s theme is “At the Library.” Do you have any librarians in your family? What about fond memories of going to the library?
The most extensive libraries of genealogical works are the Family History Library (LDS), the Library of Congress (LOC), the New York City Public Library, Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne), Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR), the Newberry Library (Chicago), the Clayton Library (Houston), the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library (Boston), and the National Genealogical Society Library (NGS). I have visited all of these except the Newberry Library.
My most recent visit to a library was in June of this year to the Library of Congress and the Daughters of the American Revolution libraries. For the LOC, I signed up in advance for time-entry access and also filled out my information for an updated LOC Reader Identification Card. I entered the Main Reading Room and located several available books, I also requested other items that had to be pulled by the staff. The next day I visited the Daughters of the American Revolution, where I accessed the DAR database and reviewed several county books. The DAR is one of my favorite places to look at genealogy books. The DAR library has over 225,000 books, including a special section on African Americans.
My favorite find was at the Limestone County Archives, where they had a picture of my maternal grandmother in a grammar school picture.