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Genealogy books and publications are one of the places where genealogists search for every mention of their ancestors. These books and publications could be analog or digital and have some great information to help us tell our ancestor’s story.
Published books and publications of family histories have been around almost since the printing press was invented. Many people who have researched their family histories have published that history in book form to share with family or with the world.
These types of genealogical records are still a good source of genealogical information.
Types of genealogy books and publications
There are all kinds of genealogy books and publications available. Many genealogy authors wrote books telling the entire history of a surname, the history of their particular family, or just the history of one ancestor. Some kinds of genealogy books publications available could be:
- Surname History: Researchers that have researched a particular surname or have done a one-name study have written books to help other genealogists research the same surname.
- Family History: Genealogists who have researched a particular family group, either one generation or multiple generations, have written books to share with the genealogy community.
- Individual History: Some books have been published about one individual ancestor. These books are a great way to learn about a specific person in your family history that someone else has researched and written a book about.
- Community History: Our ancestors lived in their community, and this community has a history to tell that affected our ancestors. Some wrote books about the local community.
Where to find printed genealogy books and publications
Genealogy books can be found on the shelves of our local libraries and archives. Some of the archives and libraries to search for published family history books are:
- Local Public Library: Many local public libraries have published family histories and published local histories. Anyone with a library card can check out these books, or if they are in the genealogy room, you may have to read them at the library. Many local libraries can also provide a family history book through interlibrary loan.
- University/College Libraries and Archives: The majority of our college and universities have published family history and local history books on their shelves.You may be required to obtain a library card to check out these books.
- Historical/Genealogical Societies: Many of our local or state historical and genealogical societies have buildings filled with genealogical records including published histories. They do not normally allow patrons to check out these books, so you will have to access the books at the facility.
- State Archives: All 50 U.S. states have a state archives and these archives have published family histories and local histories on their shelves. You can access their online catalog to see what they have in their collections.
Locating digitized books and publications
There are several online websites and databases that have digitized family history books and publications. Some of these books are fully digitized and available to researchers, and some are only partially available depending on the copyright date.
Genealogy books and publications should be on our genealogy to-do list. Genealogy authors wrote these books and publications not only to share their family history but to leave that history for us to find. Our ancestors could have been mentioned in any of these published books and publications, and we need to be looking for them.
Search for your ancestor in books and publications
Explore more about books and publications
- Books and publications collection at MyHeritage. Available are books and different publications like biographies, family histories, and local and general history publications.
- Compilation of Published Sources at MyHeritage
- Your Family in School Yearbooks, a webinar by Mike Mansfield on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Looking for Info on an Old Family Business? Try School Yearbooks on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Using U.S. Yearbooks for Family History Research on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Digital Books and Sites for Genealogists at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Using Ethnic Newspapers and Publications in Your Genealogy Research at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Off the Shelf: The Unexplored Potential for eBooks in Genealogy at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- The Digital Public Library of America - A free national digital library with online content from over 4,000 libraries.
- Google Books - Over 10 million available titles with books that have been fully digitized and books that have limited views.
- HathiTrust - A collaboration between academic and research libraries. It has over 17 million digitized items.
- The Internet Archive - Has over 20 million books and texts available online.
- JSTOR - Thousands of Open Access ebooks are available from top scholarly publishers, including Brill, Cornell University Press, De Gruyter, and University of California Press.