Research at the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center

by Suzan Younger

Did you know that the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne, Indiana is a major research destination? The ACPL is the second largest genealogical library in the United States, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City being the largest. Curt Witcher is the Director Special Collections at the ACPL and a leading force in creating this genealogical gem. It is a library you should put on your bucket list to visit. So why should you visit the ACPL?

The Genealogy Center describes its facility as “a unique and valuable resource for the Northeastern Indiana community and the entire genealogical community at large. We have one of the largest research collections available, incorporating records from around the world. Our staff specializes in genealogy and is always available to help.”

The Genealogy Center includes large collections of material that include the following:

• Family Histories. The Center has more than 72,000 family histories discoverable in the online catalog.
• Census Records and City Directories
• Passenger Lists and Naturalization Records
• Military Records
• U.S. Local Records & Special Collections. The Center has more than 372,000 printed volumes containing the history and records of U.S. towns and counties. There are several important manuscript resources, and record series of regional or national scope.
• Native American/First Nations Records
• African American Records. This includes one of the top 100 African American genealogy websites.
• Canadian Records
• British Isles
• Germany

The Genealogy Center holds one of the world’s largest English language genealogy and local history periodical collections. It includes more than 10,000 titles and has thousands of current subscriptions. You access these materials through the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) available free on the Genealogy Center’s website. You can use the index free of charge from home, however, an in-person visit means you can access the original periodicals in the library. Check out the how-to video, “Welcome to the New, FREE, Periodical Source Index (PERSI)” on the Genealogy Center’s YouTube channel.

There are additional resources you can access from home at no cost.

• The Genealogy Center has twelve online databases you can access for free from anywhere. Some of these databases include digital images, bibliographies, and links to additional resources.
• Another free resource is the Pathfinders research guides. The guides are lists of research guides and record indexes that help you start your research for ethnic, religious, state-specific locations and general subjects such as military, DNA genealogy, African American, Jewish, and more. The Genealogy Center has the books on these lists, but if you are using the lists from home, use WorldCat.org to find other repositories holding the books or use an interlibrary loan program at your local library.
• The “Family History Archives” page has links to websites offering free access to digitized books and material. The Genealogy Center is active in several initiatives to digitize public domain material in its collection and make it available online.
• The Genealogy Center is a FamilySearch affiliate library for those of you visiting in person.
• The Allen County Public Library’s YouTube channel includes a playlist for the Genealogy Center. As of this date, the playlist includes 176 videos you can access free of charge. The videos cover a wide variety of genealogical subjects including videos on how to use the Genealogy Center resources.

The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library has a page that gives an excellent overview of the genealogy collection. But do explore their website for yourself. Better yet, visit the library in person and with a group of friends. It will be a rewarding experience.