Spanish Fort Public Library helps with tracing family trees

Popular internet resource let you discover your rots in the library

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Posted 10/26/16

Spanish Fort Public Library (SFPL) has a new resource that uses technology to make tracing family trees easier. Ancestry® Library Edition, a Web-based reference tool distributed by ProQuest, will …

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Spanish Fort Public Library helps with tracing family trees

Popular internet resource let you discover your rots in the library

Posted

Spanish Fort Public Library (SFPL) has a new resource that uses technology to make tracing family trees easier. Ancestry® Library Edition, a Web-based reference tool distributed by ProQuest, will allow you to start exploring your roots by searching a surname. Anyone can come into the library to dig into Ancestry Library Edition’s millions of records – as far back as the 1400s. The library is responding to a growing interest in family history that’s captured not only Spanish Fort, Alabama but America as a whole. A new nationwide survey shows 73 percent of Americans want to learn more about their roots, up from 60 percent in 2000. Twenty-five percent of those surveyed became interested after searching for a family surname online, pointing to the increasing popularity of Internet-based genealogy. “More and more of our patrons want to explore their past and these resources make it easy and convenient,” said Tracy M. Cole, Library Director. “We expect this to be one of our most popular services.” Ancestry Library Edition is available on the library’s website, spanishfortpubliclibrary.org and will need to be accessed directly from the library. Once connected to Ancestry Library Edition, you’ll find a friendly opening screen that asks for the name of the person to be searched. Key in the name, click on “Search” and Ancestry Library Edition scans its vast selection of U.S. federal and state census data, birth, marriage, and death records, military records, Social Security death records and immigration lists. It also includes an extensive collection of information from the U.K., including images census records and civil registrations. Additionally, probate records dating back to the 1500s are included from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The information you find are pieces of a puzzle that you’ll assemble. These records have “clues” to the past – places where ancestors lived, names of relatives, birth or death dates, etc – that lead to more information. Names can be added to form the “tree” or searched to find more clues. “Genealogy is a wonderful hobby for anyone who wants to know more about where they came from,” says Cole, “and we’re delighted to provide resources that are simple enough for beginners, yet provide deep and broad content sets that will help veteran genealogists advance their research.” Spanish Fort Public Library is located at 7361 Spanish Fort Blvd. The library is open Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursdays 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information call 251-410-READ (7323) or visit on the Web at www.spanishfortpubliclibrary.org