25. Digital Public Library of America
(DPLA)
● Launched in April 2013
● Mission: “to establish a national network out of
the over forty state/regional digital libraries and
myriad large digital libraries in the US...into a
single access point for users”
Online Sources
Genealogy ranks second only to porn as the most searched topic online.
ILL requests from genealogical collections are difficult! Understanding what factors contribute to this can help you be more successful in seeking a lending source to fill those requests. These kinds of requests are often extremely limited in holdings which in turn limits your potential lenders. Sometimes, simply identifying those potential lenders can be the most difficult piece in fulfilling the request. It is not uncommon for genealogical requests to have a potential of five lenders or less and these can be small historical libraries or societies which may or may not be in OCLC. This is TIME CONSUMING for the ILL practitioner! And once you locate those few libraries, the chances of your item circulating at all, let alone through ILL is slim due to the age or the rarity of the material. Citations which are particularly difficult are obituaries, newspaper articles, and biographical sketches in books. One of the tools we can give you today to assist in filling genealogical requests is a list and virtual tour of some of the top repositories for these kinds of materials.
Last count - 30 million volumes.
The NGS Collection features more than 20,000 circulating volumes. Received in 2001, the collection features state, county, and local histories; cemetery, church, court, land, marriage, and estate record abstracts and indexes; and more than 8,000 family histories. The collection is particularly strong in materials for eastern states and New England. All items in the NGS collection may be checked out or borrowed through interlibrary loan.
FamilySearch is the world’s largest repository of genealogical records and manages the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. FamilySearch is extending access to its collections by circulating microfilms of the historic records through select public libraries. FamilySearch charges a fee to order microfilm.
(Give examples of how this works locally, two locations, and with our University ILL).
Introduction to Online Catalog:
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Introduction_to_the_Family_History_Library_Catalog
Family History Centers:
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Introduction_to_LDS_Family_History_Centers
Amber’s slide to present and transition into end of webinar and opening for questions