Genealogy is a popular hobby that relies heavily on historical research materials. The ISU Library has a somewhat eclectic collection of materials useful to genealogists. This guide is intended to help researchers discover what the ISU Library does, and does not, own in the way of genealogical research materials. In addition to U.S. records, the collection includes information on U.S. immigrants and genealogical records from Manitoba, Mexico, Barbados, Africa, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Germany and Australia. Additionally, the guide provides information on nearby libraries and Internet resources for genealogical researchers.
Image taken from American Library Association poster: Grow Your Family Tree (circa 2015).
There are an immeasurable number of genealogy-related websites available. Be careful that what may appear to be "free" is not necessarily true. Often a commercial website will provide "some" free information, but then when you run a search it will tell you that you can only access the information by registering with the site (for a fee) or paying an annual subscription. The resources linked to in this guide have been tested and are truly providing free genealogical information unless noted otherwise.
Also, please note that most websites have sponsored links on the page - left, right or center - that appear to be part of the free website. Clicking on some areas of webpages may launch you into a commercial website with material that is not free.
The library's collections and services are available to all ISU students, faculty, and staff and Parks Library is open to the public.
