The Library and the Summit County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society are teaming up once again to bring family history researchers a free, day-long genealogy program this summer.  This year’s program, “Discovering Your Immigrant Ancestors,” will take place on Saturday, August 3, from 9:30 am-4:30 pm in the Main Library auditorium and will feature genealogy experts Lisa Alzo (left) and Leslie Albrecht Huber (right).  For questions or to sign up for the program, contact Special Collections.

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On April 23 at 2 pm, the American Library Association’s Association for Library Collections and Technical Services is offering a free webinar on preserving family photos.  “This presentation offers basic guidance on the care and preservation of family photographs from nineteenth-century tintypes to contemporary color prints. The webinar addresses the fundamental physical and chemical properties of photographic print and negative materials, including albums and scrapbooks, and the causes and mechanisms of their deterioration. Strategies for preservation, such as proper handling, storage and display techniques, will be shared.”  Click here for more information and to register.

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If you’re looking for Summit County ancestors, don’t forget to check our Akron Beacon Journal indexes. They could point you to information that might break down a brick wall! Scroll through the pages for a specific name or subject, or just browse the entries for anything that catches your interest.  This entry from the 1862 index shows that a sketch of the Simeon Prior family, submitted by Elisha Prior, appeared in the newspaper on May 29 of that year on page 1, columns 3 and 4.  To request a copy of this article, or any article described in the index, contact us.

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On January 28, Ancestry Library Edition added two significant databases previously available only with a home subscription: Public Member Trees and U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989. The next time you’re using Ancestry at the Library, give them a try!

U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 is still in Beta (testing) version, but the search function appears to be working well. The collection includes several Akron city directories from 1889 – 1948, and directories from many other cities across the U. S. The database may be searched or browsed and includes fully digitized images with saving and printing capabilities for individual pages.

The addition of the Public Member Trees is a wonderful new development. Now library users have a chance to view the information uploaded by Ancestry subscribers who have chosen to make their family trees public. These are “read-only” trees, but it is possible to download and save source images. Also, while library users cannot upload new data, they may submit comments to Public Member Tree owners. This marks a new era for Ancestry Library Edition. With the help of another researcher, you might just break down a brick wall!

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Sign up for “Getting Started in African American Genealogy” on Saturday, February 23, 10am-noon at Main Library, Meeting Room 2AB (High Street level).  Call the Special Collections Division  at 330.643.9030 or email us at speccollections@akronlibrary.org.  Parking is free on Saturdays.  Space is limited.

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Winter is a terrific time to explore your family history.  No gardens to tend, no children’s soccer games, and no golf leave plenty of time to learn more about your roots.  Special Collections is the place to start!  We have one of the largest and most comprehensive genealogy collections in the region, and a helpful and friendly staff who are happy to help you get started.  Consider attending one of our free classes, or explore our free genealogy databases, including Ancestry Library Edition, Heritage Quest, Fold3, and World Vital Records.  Most may be accessed from home with an ASCPL library card. Click on the genealogy tab above for more information about our resources.  Happy sleuthing!

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During the months of January and February, the Ohio Historical Society is offering genealogy webinars on a variety of topics including how to get started, vital records, genealogy resources available at OHS and the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and more.  Learn something new or brush up on your skills with these low-cost webinars – and all from the comfort of your home.

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Expanding Your Ancestry Through Technology is the theme for the Ohio Genealogical Society’s annual conference scheduled for April 25 – April 27 at the Millennium Hotel in Cincinnati.  If you have attended an OGS conference, you know that it consists of three days of events and presentations on a multitude of topics geared for beginners as well as seasoned or experienced genealogists.  This year’s conference, with more than 100 sessions, is no exception.  Special Collections will soon have conference booklets available, but you may also access it online.  You can also stay up to date with conference news by visiting the OGS confererence blog.

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When we teach new family historians how to trace their family trees, we always encourage them to get the stories.  Although names, dates, and places are important, it is the stories that bring our ancestors to life and ”put meat on their bones.” As we gather with family and loved ones this Thanksgiving, many stories will be shared and enjoyed.  The day after Thanksgiving has been designated as the National Day of Listening by StoryCorps, the national oral history program that has been recording and preserving the stories of Americans since 2003.  Please consider taking some time to sit down with your loved ones this weekend, especially older individuals.  The StoryCorps website has many resources for how to get started, and this year they are partnering with SoundCloud to debut their interactive Wall of Listening. Everyone is invited to share stories, and you can submit as many stories as you like to be archived and shared via the web.

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The online genealogy research site Mocavo has launched its collection of free school yearbooks.  Over 3.5 million scanned yearbook pages are accessible through Mocavo.  The company states that its goal is to build the largest collection of online yearbooks, and it currently has nearly 17,000 books from middle schools, junior high schools, high schools, preparatory schools, colleges and universities, and other organizations from around the United States and Canada (including a few from Akron).

To reach its goal, Mocavo is asking the public to contribute yearbooks for inclusion in this free resource.  Information on how to share your yearbooks online is provided on the Mocavo Web site.  Click here or the above link to access the yearbooks.

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