Your Library Has Databases- Tuesday Tip

I am in the process of determining which databases, magazines, journals, and societies that I am going to remain attached to at this time of increasing gas prices, food, and the need to keep a child in college. I also would like to go to one of the major conferences this year- God willing!

Can you imagine how surprised I became at myself when I discovered or rediscovered that my local genealogy library had its own subscription to one of the newspaper archive databases that I could use at my leisure from home instead of paying a monthly fee? All I need to do is enter my library card code whenever I want to use it.

My local public library also has access to other databases that will assist in cutting my costs and allow me to allocate those funds to other priorities (including some late fees, darn it). For example, there was an obituary from our local newspaper a year old that would cost a fee to acquire through Scrips, but by accessing the local library and checking its databases I was able to obtain the obituary for free.

January might be a good time to check your local repositories to see which databases you can access for free. Also, many genealogy societies provide access to other online databases through your membership. That might be a way to consolidate as well.

Good luck! Just wish I would have caught this one sooner!