One of the biggest challenges of doing genealogy and local history research is that there are so many different places to look for records and information.
We have indexes and databases to help, of course, but we have to remember to check each one separately so we don’t miss anything!
Luckily, we have LibGuides to help!
Compiled by your friendly neighborhood librarians (that’s would be us), LibGuides are useful resources that can make our collections more accessible to researchers near and far.
Our first LibGuide is for Genealogy and Local History Links. You can find it on our website under “Tips, Tricks & How-To’s”
So far, the topics include cemetery research, church records, immigration/naturalization, land records, Rock Island Co. IL resources, Iowa resources, and vital records.
We’re also adding LibGuides all over our website!
Do you need to write a paper about a local historical figure or event? Want to know everything we have on a particular subject? You can find our list of Suggested Research Topics on our website under “Tips, Tricks & How-To’s”.
For each topic, you will find links to free online resources, books from our catalog, links to articles on our blog, photos from our collection, finding aids from our Archive & Manuscript collections, citations for items in our Ephemera files, brochures and lists compiled by Staff.
If you’re a student with a local history research assignment—or you’re helping one—these Topics can save you a lot of time:
Our intention is to have links and citations of all of our available resources for each topic in one place, so we can better assist our patrons with their research needs. These will be helpful for students working on National History Day projects as well as researchers everywhere interested in finding items in our collection.
Check back often, as we will continue to add LibGuides for more topics in the near future!
