LibGuides: Genealogy Resources: Intro

Welcome

As one of the largest research libraries in North America, the University of Illinois Library owns many resources that are useful for researchers of genealogy and local history. However, these resources are scattered throughout our collections, rather than collected in a single section.

This guide is intended to provide some insight into finding genealogical material within the University Library. Please note that this is intended only as a starting point; it is in no way comprehensive.

Many of the citations listed for the individual Illinois county sections were drawn from the Illinois County Bibliography, a listing compiled in 1985 by Connie Fairchild of the Library's reference department. This listing is located in the Reference Library (Reading Room/200 Library). Only a sampling for each county is presented in this guide. For more resources on each county, please consult the Illinois County Bibliography (shelved near the call number 016.9773), or for material published after 1985, the Library Catalog:

University of Illinois Library Catalog
Use the Library Catalog to identify books, journals (but not journal articles), microform collections, and digital collections owned by the University of Illinois. The Library Catalog is the primary tool for exploring the collections of the University of Illinois Library, the second largest academic library collection in the United States. In the Library Catalog you can search for books by subject, and you identify the location within the Library of a particular book or journal. Books and journals are organized in the library by subject. Each item is assigned one or more subject headings and a unique call number. Subject headings are standardized terms from the Library of Congress. The call number is based on the Dewey Decimal Classification or Library of Congress Classification. Boolean operators must be capitalized if used: AND, OR, NOT. Interface automatically truncates some search terms unless Boolean operators are used within the same query line. You can also browse catalog records by call number, creating a "virtual shelf browsing" experience.

Where to Start

We have broken down the guide into the following categories. If at any point you have any questions about identifying or using the Library's collections, please ask a librarian for help:

Ask a Librarian

Using the Library
This section is especially intended for those who may be new to doing intensive research at the Library, and also includes information about the University Archives

Illinois Counties
This section breaks down resources by county, listing a sampling of county histories and other information.

United States Resources
This section lists examples of resources available at the Library for the other forty-nine states. You may be surprised by our holdings for distant regions, since we are the beneficiaries of generations of canny acquisitions librarians.

Foreign Resources
Though less extensive than our U.S. holdings, the Library has a vast collection of resources for family and local history in other parts of the world, particularly Western Europe.

Web Resources
Few subjects are as extensively represented on the World Wide Web as genealogy, and there are excellent sites that categorize the resources available on the web. Here we list web-based databases that are available for use by anyone at public computers in the Library, or for use anywhere to current affiliates of the University.

Credits

Guide created by Mary Stuart, November 13, 2007.