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October is Family History Month

Discover the history of you, your family and stories that shaped them.

The Lake Agassiz Regional Library offers access to three major genealogy databases as well as microfilm readers and access to online archives of historical newspaper articles, obituaries, and photographs.

Check out these great resources to get started with your family history search:

Ancestry (available inside the library only)  and HeritageQuest Online 

Bring the fascinating details of your ancestors’ lives directly to you, and put you on a path to start making your own family discoveries. Ancestry and HeritageQuest provide unique, growing collections of research materials for tracing family history.

FamilySearch

Form connections and map out your family tree. FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world.  The popular web service has over 6 billion searchable names and 2 billion images of historical genealogical records.  Many resources are freely available through FarmilySearch.org, however as a FamilySearch affiliate library, additional records are available from within LARL branch library locations.   A free account may be required to access some resources on FamilySearch.org.

ProQuest (library card required)

Find obituaries and newspaper articles from over 350 historical and current newspapers, including Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Cloud Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The New York Times, and more.

Minnesota Digital Library

The Minnesota Digital Library offers access to digital content archived from participating cultural heritage organizations, including more than 55,000 photographs, postcards, maps, documents, letters, and oral histories.

Microfilm Readers

View historic publications and documents with microfilm readers at the Moorhead Public LibraryCrookston Public LibraryAda Public Library and the Fosston Public Library. We offer a collection of local historical publication archives on microfilm, including the Fargo Forum, Detroit Lakes Tribune, Norman County Index, Crookston Times and more. Plus, more documents are available to request with interlibrary loan.  Use of these devices is offered free-of-charge, with usual printing charges of $.10 per black and white page printed.

Not sure how to get started?

Join genealogy expert Rick Crume for a workshop exploring how to navigate these databases. Find a date and time, at a location near you, below.

Detroit Lakes Public LibraryMonday, October 30 at 7 p.m.

Bagley Public Library– Wednesday, November 1 at 10:00 a.m.

McIntosh Public LibraryWednesday, November 1 at 2 p.m.

Fertile Public LibraryWednesday, November 8 at 2 p.m.

Fosston Public LibraryWednesday, November 8 at 5:00 p.m.

Climax Community CenterMonday, November 13 at 7 p.m.

Mahnomen Public LibraryTuesday, November 21 at 5 p.m.

Moorhead Public LibraryTuesday, November 28 at 6:30 p.m.

All locations will be closed on Monday, November 11 in observance of Veterans Day
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