Exploring genealogy and family trees is always an interesting topic and the Minot Public Library has the resources to help you begin or continue your research. On Wednesday, May 18, MPL staff will present a free program showcasing some of these resources and demonstrating how to conduct genealogical research. Of special interest is a preview of a new resource which allows researchers from anywhere to search the archives of The Minot Daily News online.

What does the Minot Public Library have to help and what services are provided? The most basic resource is access to the Internet which some people do not have at home. Through access to the Internet, a patron can access sites like Ancestry.com, Familysearch.com, and Myheritage.com, just to name a few. These sites were created in order to pool many resources into one easy-to-find place. Further, MPL subscribes to the library edition of Ancestry.com which allow for more in-depth research. For instance, with the library edition of Ancestry you can search through all the resources Ancestry.com has to offer, such as census records, without being required to pay for a monthly membership.

For more traditional genealogical research, the Library has a lot of information on local history including almost all of the issues of The Minot Daily News on microfilm which can be very helpful if your family history is local. Coming soon to the Minot Public Library is an online database of The Minot Daily News. This database is available at www.minotlibrary.org and is hosted by Advantage Archives. “We have been able to get this project started thanks to generous support from the Friends of the Minot Public Library, the ND State Library, and the MDU Resources Foundation. along with a partnership with The Minot Daily News,” said Technology Coordinator Joshua Pikka.

“We have only just begun digitizing hundreds of rolls of microfilm,” he explained. “We started with the earliest issues we have, going back to 1894 and are still testing the site to work out any bugs.” Pikka, who is leading this project and has received grants and donations to do this, said that they hope to have the final site ready this summer, but that it will take much longer to get all of the issues online.

In addition to this online resource, MPL’s Great Plains room offers a one-of-a-kind collection of regional histories that includes biographies, atlases, yearbooks and more. The Library also has numerous books on genealogy and a subscription to Family Tree magazine to help you in your research.

As one of the instructors for the May 18th program, Pikka said that one of the most interesting aspects of genealogy is that “when you begin your research, you’ll usually find that your family history began beyond the North Dakota borders.” He said that while many people think of North Dakotans being of Norwegian, German, and Swedish heritage there is a much greater expanse of culture than one might expect. “Our community includes those from Polish, Greek, Native American, Irish, Jewish, Russian, Mexican, Somalian, and Vietnamese cultures (among others).” Resources at the Minot Public Library can not only help you research your own family history, they can help you learn about your own culture and the culture and customs of others.

As more and more information is available, it becomes more necessary to find experts to help navigate through this influx and determine the most reliable resources. Perhaps the best resources the Minot Public Library has are the librarians. MPL staff have experience with, and training in, genealogy and can help you in your research. Staff may even be able to come up with an idea you hadn’t thought of, or a site you didn’t know about. Though the hundreds of rolls of microfilm and shelves of books may emphasize Minot and North Dakota, your search doesn’t have to be local for staff to be able to help.

Whether you are just getting started or looking for the next step in your detailed genealogy research, the Minot Public Library can assist you. Contact the Library at 852-1045 to find out more about the free genealogy program or to set up a one-on-one training session to explore the Library’s genealogical resources.