Libraries in the Southland Provide Genealogy Buffs With Links to Their Pasts

Before a fire ravaged the Los Angeles Central Library downtown, one of the most popular sections was the genealogy department. Any time it was open, you could find at least two dozen people squeezed together at the study tables, poring over stacks of worn books for clues to family histories.

Now that this prized genealogical collection will be closed for several years, where can family-tree seekers pursue their work? Perhaps surprisingly, Southern California has a number of libraries at which you can research your family history.

Newcomers to ancestor-tracing should first visit a library that has a staff member or volunteer familiar with genealogy. Many libraries are merely caretakers of a genealogical society’s collection and do not have anyone to answer questions; in some cases, however, society members volunteer to help library patrons. If you can find out when these volunteers will be there, your search will be more productive.

Genealogical collections almost never circulate, so ask about photocopying rules and the availability of photocopiers. Bring plenty of change for self-serve copying.

Here are 10 libraries at which you can trace your family tree:

San Diego Public Library, 820 E St., San Diego, (619) 236-5834. Open Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed Sundays and legal holidays.

The genealogy collection is in a room next to the California Room, where you must sign in. Many of the 3,700 volumes are on indefinite loan from a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Emphasis is on the Eastern states, beginning genealogy and ethnic genealogy. Also available are foreign telephone directories, peerage books and a copy of the catalogue for the Newbery Library of Genealogy in Chicago. Microfilm reader/printers and photocopiers are located in the California Room and in the newspaper collection room. Copies are 15 cents each. The library staff is not trained to help with genealogical questions.

Carlsbad City Library, 1250 Elm Ave., Carlsbad, (619) 434-2870. Open Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays and legal holidays.

An impressive genealogical collection, established by the North San Diego County Genealogical Society, has more than 17,000 volumes, many on microform with a separate card catalogue. Located on the second floor, it includes the Draper Collection, the Pennsylvania State Archives, the New Jersey State Archives, a complete set of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society’s register and the New York Biographical Record. A society volunteer is usually there in the afternoon; a staff member is there from 4 p.m. until closing. Several microform reader/printers are available; all copies are 10 cents each.

Palm Springs Public Library, 300 S. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, (619) 323-8292. Hours September through May: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Hours June through August: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed Sundays and legal holidays.

The Palm Springs Genealogical Society maintains a collection that emphasizes the Western states. About 1,000 hardcover volumes are housed in the Reference Room. Some of the collection is on microform, including a copy of the catalogue for the California State Library at Sutro. Standard photocopies are 15 cents each; microform copies are 25 cents each. A society volunteer is usually there on Monday mornings.

Riverside City and County Public Library, 3581 7th St., Riverside, (714) 782-5201. Open Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sundays and legal holidays.

The Riverside Genealogical Society collection is on the lower level next to the local history section. About 2,500 hardcover books are listed on the library’s microfiche catalogue. A good collection of genealogical periodicals is listed by state but is not in the catalogue. An accelerated index to federal censuses called Trace-dex will be available soon. The local history collection, which includes the city’s directory books back to the 1870s, has a separate catalogue. Society members volunteer several hours each month. A photocopier is available; copies are 10 cents each.

Huntington Beach Central Library, 7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach, (714) 842-4481. Open Mondays, 1 to 9 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays and legal holidays.

The Orange County Genealogical Society collection, housed on the top floor, contains more than 10,000 hardcover volumes with a separate card catalogue. The excellent periodical section has more than 200 titles. There is a wide range of material, with many books on Virginia and Ohio. The New England Historical and Genealogical Society’s Register from 1847 to 1985 is on microfilm.

Also available are a microfiche shelf list of the California State Library at Sutro, several census indexes, pamphlet and locality files, a map case and surname index.

There is a growing collection of genealogical information on foreign countries. A photocopier is on the same level, with more on the lower level; copies are 10 cents each. Volunteers are usually there every Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Beginners classes are held the first Saturday of every month at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Talbert Room.

Pomona Public Library, 625 S. Garey Ave., Pomona, (714) 620-2026. Open Mondays and Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays and legal holidays.

The Curtis Genealogical Collection on the lower level has more than 3,000 hard-bound volumes emphasizing U.S. genealogy. It has indexes to the U.S. federal census from 1790 to 1850.The library’s computerized catalogue includes the collection and can be accessed from several computer terminals.

A Pomona Valley Genealogical Society member helps patrons on Thursday mornings.

A 4,000-volume California-history collection is adjacent to the Curtis collection.

Microform reader/printers are available; copies are 20 cents each. Two standard photocopiers are on the main level; copies are 15 cents each. A photographic collection has 100,000 local area images and a name index. There are also photos of hundreds of Southwest towns; you can order prints for a fee.

Los Angeles Family History Library (formerly the L.A. Genealogical Library), 10741 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles, (213) 474-9990. Open Mondays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Sundays, legal holidays, the first two weeks of August and the last two weeks of December.

The largest branch of the Genealogical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the library is free to the public. It has more than 52,000 rolls of microfilm, 12,000 microfiche cards and 1,000 books and periodicals.

Ask for the information sheet that details the holdings, including all U.S. federal census records from 1790 to 1910; many ship passenger lists; vital and census records for England, Wales and Ireland, and records pertaining to various Eastern European and Scandinavian countries.

The library has a master card catalogue; a microfiche catalogue of the main office in Salt Lake City; microfiche indexes to California State vital records, and a map area. Microfilm kept at the Salt Lake City library can be ordered on a three-week loan for $2.75 or on an indefinite loan for $6. Free workshops are offered. Three computers are available to patrons.

Southern California Genealogical Society Library, 122 S. San Fernando Road, Burbank, (818) 843-7247. Open Wednesday-Saturday, and Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the first and second Sundays of each month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed legal holidays.

The library has 6,500 hardcover volumes and a large periodical collection with more than 1,280 titles and 2,000 volumes. A lot of material is available on Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Virginia and the Southwest.

The library has the Genealogical Periodical Annual Index, a complete set of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society’s Register and the Indiana Biographical Index. The Rev. Joseph Turner Collection on 600 microfiche cards has this genealogist’s 50 years’ worth of indexed notes; it includes the Eastern states, 10,000 Delaware surnames and data back to 650 A.D.

Thousand Oaks Public Library, 1401 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, (805) 497-6282. Open Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. Closed legal holidays.

This library houses the Conejo Valley Genealogical Society’s collection of 1,500 hard-bound books and 150 periodicals. It has a good collection of Virginia and Irish genealogy; an expansion of the Texas and Oklahoma holdings is planned. Also available are a complete International Genealogical Index on microfiche and copies of the Domesday books, which are England’s population surveys from 1086 to 1088.

Gledhill Library, Santa Barbara Historical Society, 136 E. De la Guerra, Santa Barbara, (805) 966-1601. Open Tuesday-Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Closed Saturday to Monday and legal holidays.

The 5,000 local history volumes focus on Santa Barbara families while some material is on the Eastern states. Check titles and library call numbers in the card file and the librarian will get the books from the closed stacks.

Santa Barbara material includes vertical information files, wills from the 1850s, microfilm of 1850 to 1910 Santa Barbara County federal censuses and a “Spanish-Mexican version of a census” called “padrones.” These are lists of soldiers who were garrisoned at Santa Barbara and lists of Easter service attendants. There is an oral history collection and photographic collection of family portraits and buildings. The librarian does all photocopying at 15 cents each for members and 25 cents each for non-members.