Family History Day

We have gathered together the Libraries online resources that can be used to support your family history research into one convenient guide. In this session, Tom and Joanie will lead a tour of the guide and dive deeply into a few of the resources.

Joan Barnes is the Community Engagement Librarian and a member of the User Experience Team for the Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is responsible for marketing, communications, outreach, and coordinates the Peer Guide Program. When not working, Joan enjoys genealogy, bird-watching, coloring, and exploring metaphysical ideas.

Tom McFarland is the Staff Development Program Officer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. He earned his MLS from Emporia State University. He has published in academic journals and books on topics relating to librarianship and genealogy. Tom is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and president of the Great Plains Chapter. He presents on genealogy at national, state, and local conferences and specializes in genetic genealogy.

Find out more about the Family History and Genealogy Subject Guide.

The Hathi Trust Digital Library is a partnership of academic & research institutions which offers over 13 million items which may help you with your research. Free to search, we will show you how to access this resource and provide search tips to help researchers use this valuable tool.

Toni Anaya is an Associate Professor and Instruction Coordinator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she works with the Institute of Ethnic Studies, Modern Languages & Literatures, and a variety of pre-college and first year groups on campus. Her current areas of research include the recruitment and retention of people of color in the library profession and library instruction for first generation, non-traditional and international students.

FamilySearch.org offers researchers an enormous treasure trove of genealogical records--but the treasure is not always easy to find. Learn how to drill down to discover those vital family history clues, even in unindexed collections.

Martha Grenzeback began researching her own genealogy at the age of 12 in her native California and quickly became an addict. After obtaining a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Missouri, she attained her dream job as the Genealogy & Local History Librarian for Omaha Public Library, helping other people research their family histories and managing Omaha Public Library’s extensive genealogy collection.

This lecture will discuss ways to learn more about your historic property. We will learn about how to use city directories to determine ownership; what information is included in a building permit and how to locate permits; and review historic maps that are available for researching properties.

Kay Logan-Peters is the Architecture Librarian at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she often assists users seeking information on historic buildings. She is the author of The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a visual history published in 2017 by Arcadia Publishing.

The proliferation of DNA testing has resulted in a significant new tool for genealogists. We will examine case studies that use chromosome matching, shared matching techniques, and traditional resources to solve undetermined relationships and to find unknown ancestors.

Tom McFarland is the Staff Development Program Officer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. He earned his MLS from Emporia State University. He has published in academic journals and books on topics relating to librarianship and genealogy. Tom is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and president of the Great Plains Chapter. He presents on genealogy at national, state, and local conferences and specializes in genetic genealogy.

ArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records from over 1,000 archives, libraries, museums, and historical societies giving you the location of rich historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. This session will feature a demonstration on how ArchiveGrid helps in the search for primary source materials.

Joan M. Barnes has been working on her family’s genealogy since 1989. Her tree includes diverse ancestors from Acadian, French, English, Scots, German, and Native American cultures. She works as the community engagement librarian and associate professor of practice for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries where she is responsible for marketing, communications, outreach, and events. Joan has a Masters in Library & Information Studies from the University of Rhode Island.