Seattle Genealogical Society Library
Yesterday I visited the Seattle Genealogical Library at 6200 Sandpoint Way N.E. #101, across the street from the National Archives - Pacific Northwest branch.
The Seattle Genealogical Society maintains a research library at no charge for the use of its members, and a charge of $5 per day for guests ($2.50 after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday).
Library hours are: Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed Sunday, Monday and holidays).
On September 13, 2006, the Library will extend its Wednesday hours from 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
The SGS Research Library contains a wealth of important genealogical research materials, many of them collected and donated by members of the society for over seventy-five years. It is well organized and user friendly. The staff are knowledgeable in both the resources of the library and genealogy.
The library has an extensive collection of Family Histories, both formally and informally published. Family Histories are organized alphabetically by surname. There are also binders of family materials. Surname notebooks containing Family Group Sheets submitted by Seattle Genealogical Society members over the last 75 years, can also be found and are arranged alphabetically. There is no search engine,
but all materials can be found under Library Resources on the SGS website. Use the Edit - Find On This Page feature of your browser to locate specific items.
The library is divided into sections on International and United States listings.
The International section of the SGS library is shelved alphabetically by continent, then by country name within each continental division.
The United States section is divided into regions: New England :: Mid-Atlantic :: South :: Midwest :: North Central :: Pacific Northwest :: West
Each has the general resources for that region and then the states specific to that region. Each state has the state specifc general resources and then listings of county resources. One particularly nice feature of the library is that at the beginning of the shelves for each state the library has attached a tag listing the counties for which they have information. There is no search engine, but all materials can be found under Library Resources on the SGS website. Use the Edit - Find On This Page feature of your browser to locate specific items.
The SGS library has one computer connected to the internet. Available on this computer is Ancestry.com the World Deluxe Edition, not the Library Edition. As this is a very popular feature, the library has suggested that you call (206.522.8658) and reserve a time for using the computer.
One of the new computer additions to the library is the software program DeedMapper. The program is used for analyzing old grants, deeds, surveys, and claims, particularly those described by metes and bounds. DeedMapper's being used by local historians, genealogists, and archaeologists to make land ownership maps of days gone by.
Here are some examples of what DeedMapper can do:
* Print out pictures of individual plots, scaled to USGS topographic map scale (or any other scale).
* Discover genealogical relationships by showing that person X sold a part of person Y's land.
* Untangle people having the same name by analyzing their landholdings and transfers.
* Find the location of a particular plot by anchoring a group of neighboring plots against a stream.
* Create a complete map of landholders in a region. Embellish your work by hand drawing census- or tax-taker routes on top of it.
* Write a book of county deed abstracts containing maps of landholders on the various creeks.
The SGS Library expects this to be a very popular program and suggests you call (206.522.8658) and reserve a time for use.
The library also has two microfilm readers, one microfiche reader, computers and a collection of over 150 genealogical CD-ROMS, and as would be expected a large collection of Washington State materials. New and used books are available for sale.
This is but the tip of the iceberg as to what is available in this wonderful library, I suggest you visit in person.
Thank you to the entire staff of the SGS Library for making my visit such a pleasant and informative one.
Links in This Article:
Seattle Genealogical Society
Library Resources
DeedMapper
The Seattle Genealogical Society maintains a research library at no charge for the use of its members, and a charge of $5 per day for guests ($2.50 after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday).
Library hours are: Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed Sunday, Monday and holidays).
On September 13, 2006, the Library will extend its Wednesday hours from 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
The SGS Research Library contains a wealth of important genealogical research materials, many of them collected and donated by members of the society for over seventy-five years. It is well organized and user friendly. The staff are knowledgeable in both the resources of the library and genealogy.
The library has an extensive collection of Family Histories, both formally and informally published. Family Histories are organized alphabetically by surname. There are also binders of family materials. Surname notebooks containing Family Group Sheets submitted by Seattle Genealogical Society members over the last 75 years, can also be found and are arranged alphabetically. There is no search engine,
but all materials can be found under Library Resources on the SGS website. Use the Edit - Find On This Page feature of your browser to locate specific items.
The library is divided into sections on International and United States listings.
The International section of the SGS library is shelved alphabetically by continent, then by country name within each continental division.
The United States section is divided into regions: New England :: Mid-Atlantic :: South :: Midwest :: North Central :: Pacific Northwest :: West
Each has the general resources for that region and then the states specific to that region. Each state has the state specifc general resources and then listings of county resources. One particularly nice feature of the library is that at the beginning of the shelves for each state the library has attached a tag listing the counties for which they have information. There is no search engine, but all materials can be found under Library Resources on the SGS website. Use the Edit - Find On This Page feature of your browser to locate specific items.
The SGS library has one computer connected to the internet. Available on this computer is Ancestry.com the World Deluxe Edition, not the Library Edition. As this is a very popular feature, the library has suggested that you call (206.522.8658) and reserve a time for using the computer.
One of the new computer additions to the library is the software program DeedMapper. The program is used for analyzing old grants, deeds, surveys, and claims, particularly those described by metes and bounds. DeedMapper's being used by local historians, genealogists, and archaeologists to make land ownership maps of days gone by.
Here are some examples of what DeedMapper can do:
* Print out pictures of individual plots, scaled to USGS topographic map scale (or any other scale).
* Discover genealogical relationships by showing that person X sold a part of person Y's land.
* Untangle people having the same name by analyzing their landholdings and transfers.
* Find the location of a particular plot by anchoring a group of neighboring plots against a stream.
* Create a complete map of landholders in a region. Embellish your work by hand drawing census- or tax-taker routes on top of it.
* Write a book of county deed abstracts containing maps of landholders on the various creeks.
The SGS Library expects this to be a very popular program and suggests you call (206.522.8658) and reserve a time for use.
The library also has two microfilm readers, one microfiche reader, computers and a collection of over 150 genealogical CD-ROMS, and as would be expected a large collection of Washington State materials. New and used books are available for sale.
This is but the tip of the iceberg as to what is available in this wonderful library, I suggest you visit in person.
Thank you to the entire staff of the SGS Library for making my visit such a pleasant and informative one.
Links in This Article:
Seattle Genealogical Society
Library Resources
DeedMapper
<< Home