GeneaBabble

I was just reading the Genealogy Blog which referenced an article on 10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library and it had me thinking (scary, I know).  I have found a lot of useful information on the internet and it’s always nice to have easy access to things like census records.  When I think about it, though, I have solved more genealogical problems and roadblocks from some obscure books and maps I’ve found in my library’s small genealogy collection than I could ever hope to solve with the internet alone.  Sure, there’s plenty of scanned books available online, but it’s highly doubtful you’re going to find Uncle Bob’s 1893 History of Yankeedoodle County online.

A good example is the 16 volume Mercer County Cemetery Inscriptions books.  Our library has a set (some volumes bound with duct tape) and I was able to find the resting place of my gggg-grandparents.  It even had a hand-drawn map showing how to get there!  There’s all sorts of things like that which you won’t find online.

On the other hand, I’ll never give up the internet, either!