Many thanks to our live participants today, , , , , , and many others. It was so nice to see you join our program today. Remember, if you enjoy or find this recording useful, you’d be doing us a favor to drop a little ❤️ and add your thoughts in the comments below. If you think it’ll be valuable to others, go ahead and share it individually or in group pages. Your friends will be invited straight in, I won’t even bother them with subscriptions. But, I will add…
Today’s program was the second of our eight programs celebrating stories About That Place. This near-daily series runs through October 3rd with Substack Live programs to celebrate one-place studies. The series, shared under #AATP25, has been organized by the Society of Genealogists in collaboration with the Society for One-Place Studies, the British Association for Local History (BALH), and Genealogy Stories. It’s an honor to be part of this program again.
My conversation with Allison focused on the history of this incredible Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library and how they make often rare genealogical resources available worldwide. We also talked a little about the extraordinary leadership and innovation it’s taken to get the center to this point.
She shared a little about the mission of the library to “help people find their stories,” a topic that sent shivers down my spine. In our conversation about what led the library to this goal, she shared the story of Fred Reynolds, the founder of the center and his vision in 1961. Carrying the mantel today, is the manager and 45-year veteran of the library, Curt Witcher. Enjoy this charming celebration of the challenge:
Heading into Family History Month here in the United States, Allison shared a full PDF listing of activities in support of the annual event for you to explore from here 👇
When asked about the single most useful tool the library offers, Allison had an answer ready without a moment’s hesitation: the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). The Genealogy Center PERSI page creates a layman’s portal into this incredible resource.
Resources from the GenealogyCenter.org
Virtual Consultations offered free to the public or online with a simple scheduling form.
They have a collection of rare Family History Books in their Archives. Where copyright allows, these are digitized in collaboration with the Internet Archive.
Additional Research Resources
Indiana Guides produced by Allen County
A custom portal through the Periodical Source Index (PERSI)
A portal to published Life Stories
Search tools
For the US by State
By Subject
By Country
But wait, there’s more. The Genealogy Center also hosts a full calendar of events live and recorded and published to YouTube:
Allen County Public Library channel @AllenCountyPublicLibrary on YouTube
I hope you found this a fun exploration of the talk Allison gave last year and sources for research materials. You’ll find that original recording here:
Please do join us tomorrow for our conversation with
, the Heritage Detective.
Note: These programs are using Substack for livestreaming, here is the link. You won’t need to register, but you will need to be logged in with a Substack account. As a follower or subscriber you’ll be notified when the live program begins.
With the kind support of our Patrons, all Projectkin programs are offered free. These recordings will be posted to a special playlist on Projectkin’s YouTube channel, and as part of AATP25, they will also be cross-posted to the Facebook-based All About That Place group.
