Genealogy Pointers

If you are planning a genealogy research trip to your local courthouse, a State Archives, the National Archives, a State Historical Society or any of the number of research resource that are available for Genealogist; you have to be prepared. If you don’t prepare yourself then you will waste time by asking questions and hunting for information that they might not have. Here are the 10 most important questions that you need to have the answers to before you ever leave home.

1. What are the hours they are open for research?
This probably seems like common since but if you have done any genealogy research at all you know that many different places do have different times. By finding out times you might have an option of researching in the evenings or that the history room may have only a couple of hours a day for research. If it’s a small library or courthouse, you might want to ask if a certain individual helps researchers and the time that person is there.

2. Holidays or lunch closures?
Holidays are a given when it come to libraries, courthouses, and archives so don’t plan your research over a holiday. Some research facilities will close for a few weeks during the summer or winter to give their employees a break or for things like inventory. Research facilities can also be relocating to a new location so could be closed for a month. In small towns, courthouses can and often do close for the lunch hour.

3. Records that are available, how are they viewed?
Do they have the original documents or are they on microfilm? If they are all on microfilm, are you able to get a copy of the original? Do they have an online index or a printed index that individuals can look at in advance? Is all the records closed-stack that has to be requested before hand or are they open-stack that anyone can browse?

4. Restrictions that could affect my research?
There are any number of reasons that restrictions could affect your research ability during your visit. Some places can limit access to a facility and even certain records if you are not a member. The records that you want to research might not even be in that facility. They could be located off-site and you have to request them in advance of your visit. If you are looking for a reasonably new document you might have to face the privacy law and except that they just aren’t available. If you are looking to view a record that is really old and rare then an archivist will probably have to handle and view the record with you; these often have to be requested in advance.

5. Do they have any unique records or collections?
Whenever you visit a new research facility you should always plan a little extra time to explore the records that are unique to the facility. They will probably be located all within a certain area. These records are usually not available anywhere else. They can include, family letters, special groups of records, or manuscripts that can’t be copied.

6. Are there any copying restrictions?
The majority of the time copying is only done by the staff but some research facilities do allow other forms of copying like, you can do the copying yourself, can be saved to a CD, or you have to purchase a copy card. Some records are not to be copied at all so you have to be prepared to transcribe the document yourself so plan extra time for this. You do need to know how much the research facility charges for different types of copies.

7. What are you allowed to bring with you to the research facility?
By finding this out you won’t be disappointed when you get there so be prepared with the tools you can use. Some facilities won’t allow pens, markers, cameras, scanners, or even laptop computers.

8. What are the best times for my visit?
Many research facilities can tell you there busiest times of the week like Mondays and Friday. Try to plan your visit during the down times so this will help you getting onto a microfilm reader easier and hunting through stacks of materials faster.

9. What about parking, bus routes and a lunchroom?
These are three questions that research staff gets the most of but they are always very helpful. If there isn’t a lunchroom asks for the closest and best places to eat or you could bring your sack lunch if the facility has lockers for the public; many now offer lockers.

10. Is there a particular person that specializes in my area of research?
This is an invaluable resource that one needs to find out. Having someone that specializes in your area will be able to answer questions that you have about that particular area of research. All of the staff members should be able to help you locate records and on how to use the microfilm machine but there is probably only one person that can help you with the early colonization of North Carolina.