News
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National Library Week: Ancestor Selfie
Since the Martin F. Schmidt Research Library at KHS houses the largest genealogy collection in the state, the majority of our visiting researchers are actively searching for their ancestors. One thing we encourage around here: Ancestor Selfies. When you find your ancestor within the pages of a book, or deep within the strips of microfilm, feel free to snap a selfie! We’ve all had those wonderful moments, when the elusive ancestor finally makes an appearance in the search. In fact, we’ve heard more than one shout of “yippee”, or whoops and hollers when someone finally catches another dead relative. Why...
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National Library Week: Brush with Celebrity
When researching Kentucky history, books are great resources, but you should seriously think about broadening your horizons to include archival material. Many libraries include rare or primary source archival collections, but today we’re going to focus on the large collection housed at KHS. As an institution, we have been collecting since the early 19th century, and as our collection grew, so did the history WOW factor! As a research library, half of our collection space is devoted to providing access to these unique resources! When I first started working for KHS a few years ago, we were thick into small...
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National Library Week: Consult With an Expert
Experts are people who have a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge or skill in a particular area. Often these people are very inaccessible, either to find them or to understand what they are talking about when they try to explain some topic. Luckily for you, the folks at the Martin F. Schmidt Research Library at the Kentucky Historical Society are actively gathering these experts to help you with your family history needs. We have several ways in which you can find experts to help with specific topics or your run-of-the-mill brick wall. One of the best methods for answering your questions regarding where...
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National Library Week: Voices of Our Ancestors
Libraries have wonderful collections of books, magazines and other printed materials. Special libraries like the Kentucky Historical Society also hold other types of materials that make it possible to hear your ancestors speak to you in their own words. By listening to oral histories and other interviews and reading letters and diaries, you can learn the real story about Kentucky’s past from those who lived it. KHS has several tools that make it easy to find these fascinating primary sources: Pass the Word: a discovery tool for oral history collections throughout the Commonwealth, sponsored by the Kentucky Oral History Commission...
