Events

Your Dallas Public Library card can take your family history search to new places! Learn how to get started online with your family history search and receive a brief overview of how each genealogy database will help you in your search. For those with more research experience, learn about non-traditional databases that might benefit your family history search.

Join the Van Zandt Genealogical Society and Patti Huff Smith for an afternoon of learning and fun! The topic is learning to get the most out of DNA data by using GEDmatch

When researching your family history online, how do you figure out if what you are finding is accurate? Genealogy & History Manager Stephanie Bennett will walk through step-by-step how to evaluate the accuracy of your online source and provide tips for locating the original record.

Years of history and tradition are contained in the food we eat every day. Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with food, community, and conversation. Enjoy a selection of small plates created by Daisy Chuskul, chef and owner of Bangkok Inn, a family-owned restaurant serving Dallas since 1982.

With Memorial Day fast approaching, it's time to research your ancestors who served in the military. Fold3 is a database specializing in historical military records and is available to use from home with your Dallas Public Library card. During this program, our genealogy specialist will show you how to effectively navigate the database (including how to find all the amazing non-military sources), how to use the search tools, and how to memorialize your military veteran ancestor.

Camcorder tapes, VHS, VHS-C, 8 mm film - the opportunities to make home movies in the 20th century seem endless. Now, it ends up being hard to find the equipment to view your forgotten treasures and harder still to digitize it for free. Join Genealogy & History Manager Stephanie Bennett to learn about the ins and outs of family movie digitization and how the Heritage Lab.

Are you wanting to learn more about your Hispanic heritage? Members of the Hispanic Organization for Genealogy and Research (HOGAR) de Dallas will be on hand to help you with your research.

Ephemera is a fancy word for items that were intended to have a temporary nature, often hand-written and disposable, that have persisted through the years. This could include postcards, ticket stubs, and other items you might find in a scrapbook. Utilizing ephemera can help deepen our family histories, provide visual and/or other context to a location or culture, and make tangible memories we might not have lived ourselves. See real-life examples of how ephemera helped bring a family history story back to life.

The sound of a loved one's voice = irreplaceable family memories. Learn how to digitize and preserve your audio recordings stored on cassette tapes, microcassette tapes and LPs. Hear from one of Dallas Public Library's librarians on how to edit your audio, and share your precious family memories using the Heritage Lab located on the 8th floor of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.