National Finding Aid Network Coming

A National Finding Aid Network coming! This network will make it possible to search for genealogy records in many archives on one website.

OCLC brings us WorldCat and other research databases. They are working with leading libraries and technology companies on this project

Finding Aids for Genealogy Research

Finding aids are tools that help researchers find records in archives. Usually, a finding aid is a specific document, with standard categories that describe a collection of records. Archival collections have many records for US and international family history research. But they can be hard to find on the web. So with a National Finding Aid Network, genealogists will be able to search in one place to discover archival materials all over the US.

What Does This Mean for Genealogists?

Some states in green have banded together to make their own finding aid network, usually known as a portal. The new National Finding Aid Network will help archives in red, blue, and yellow states make their archives easily available for searching and use.

National Finding Aid Network Partners

OCLC Research, the California Digital Library, Chain Bridge Group, Shift Collective, and the University of Virginia Library are working with statewide and regional finding aid aggregators.

They are also talking to archivists and archival researchers (like us) about the elements of the National Finding Aid Network that would be most useful to us.

How to Find Genealogy Records in Archives Today

Yes, this project will take awhile to be available to researchers. So, right now, you have to know where to search. If you would like to know more, book my presentations on these topics for your group.

And I have a presentation on using archival portals and an e-book on digital archives for genealogy The presentation and ebook help you find websites with hidden records to help your genealogy research.