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Books and Branches: Library Classes Focus on Family History Research

The Intermediate Genealogy Series, offered by the Minnesota Genealogical Society, continues on Dec. 5 with a two-part class on locating and using military records and finding published genealogical material.

At 10 a.m. participants in the class "Military Records: What Did Great Grandfather Do in the War?" will learn how to use military sources. Participants will look at service, pension and land warrant records, among others.

The second class begins at 11:30 a.m. with "Finding Published Genealogical Materials." Participants will learn how to find books, articles and manuscripts online. For materials only found in libraries and archives, students will be introduced to online tools such as Google Books, WorldCat, NUCMC and MNLink, the Interlibrary loan tool for Minnesota. Plus, there will be a demonstration of Zotero, a powerful Firefox extension used to capture citations and web pages.

This class is taught by Tom Rice, a professional genealogy researcher, lecturer, teacher and writer.

Also available to researchers of all ages and interests, is the free class "I'm New Here: Introduction to the Library" offered each Saturday at 9:15 a.m. Participants will be introduced to the many Library resources and gain tips on how to use catalogs, request materials and purchase photocopies.

Registration is required for all classes; call 651-259-3300 or register online at www.mnhs.org/library/classes. The class limit is 30 and classes with fewer than five registrants will be canceled one week prior to the class date.

The Minnesota Historical Society Library is located in the History Center at 345 Kellogg Blvd. W. in St. Paul. Auxiliary aids and services are available with notice of five working days (call 651-259-3300). Regular library hours are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

The Society’s calendar of events is posted on the Internet at events.mnhs.org/calendar. The web site also has information about all of the Society’s programs, museums and historic sites. To request a free guide to museums and historic sites, call 1-800-657-3773.

The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849 to preserve and share Minnesota history. The Society collects, preserves and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries and collections, historic sites, educational programs and book publishing.

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