Locating Online Databases Part Three: Digitized Books

In the last decade, there has been a literal explosion in the availability of online genealogy records. This article will explain methods for locating online digitized books of published genealogical records.

• For using the FamilySearch Wiki to find online records, see Part One.
• For online records using FamilySearch Historical Records and the FamilySearch Library, see Part Two.
• For online digitized books, see Part Three. For internet searches for online records, see Part Four.
  

Warning Tips

First, here are some warnings to consider.

Complete or incomplete?

In some cases, the database shows a complete copy of all the existing or known records in a collection. However, in many cases

• 1) the collection is still being digitized and uploaded. The uploading is a work in progress.
• 2) the collection is fully digitized, but only partially indexed. The index is a work in progress.
• 3) the original collection is still being gathered and will eventually be digitized, uploaded, and indexed. The collection is a work in progress.

It is important to read any descriptive notes about the collection. If it is incomplete, you will want to study the source again from time to time until you can determine that the project is finished.

Index, index and images, images only?

Some databases show digitized copies of original documents. Some databases are indexes of genealogical data found in documents. Some databases have indexed a collection of documents and linked the index entry to the digitized image of the document named. Warning! Every time information is copied into an index, abstract, or extract there is a chance of human error. An index may speed up location of a desired record. However, if the indexer misread or mistyped an entry, dependence on an index can result in missing a valuable record or greater details found in an original record. Always study the original source. Look at the digitized copy linked by the index. Browse the original source in the appropriate time period or section where you would expect to find your record, whenever possible.

FamilySearch Digitized Books

To access this collection, click on "Search" at the top of this page and select "Books" from the drop-down menu.

Family History Books is a collection of more than 325,000 digitized genealogy and family history publications from the archives of some of the most important family history libraries in the world. The collection includes family histories, county and local histories, genealogy magazines and how-to books, gazetteers, and medieval histories and pedigrees. The valuable resources included in Family History Books come from the following partner institutions: Allen County Public Library, Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library, Brigham Young University Idaho David O. McKay Library, Church History Library, Family History Library, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Houston Public Library - Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, Mid-Continent Public Library - Midwest Genealogy Center, Onondaga County Public Library, University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries.

1. Search by surname. You can also search by surname and locality both to narrow the results.

Typical Results of a Surname Search This is a small sample. The actual list of hits is much longer.

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2. Search by locality.

Typical Results of a Locality Search

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3. Search by keyword, which can include terms, surnames, and localities in any variety of combinations.

Typical Results of a Keyword Search

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Other Digitized Books

There are several major efforts to digitize books. Although these projects cover much more than genealogy, some valuable genealogy gems are included. Again, search by all jurisdictions: country, state, count, city, and parish. Search also by surname or keyword. If you find a book mentioned in the FamilySearch catalog that is not digitized by FamilySearch, you can frequently find it in these collections by cutting and pasting the title into the search field.

Each of the search fields below is a clickable link to the search page for the collection.

HathiTrust

Click to go directly to HathiTrust:

GoogleBooks

Click to go directly to GoogleBooks:

InternetArchive

Click to go directly to Internet Archive: Scroll down below the Wayback Machine section.