Genealogical Research: Finding Books

To find books and government documents in USA Libraries' collections, use SOUTHcat: USA Libraries' Catalog.

• Catalog tips and tricks:

  • Keyword searches – use quotation marks to hold phrases together ("passenger lists")

  • Truncation – use ? after the root of a word to find all its variants (genealog? finds genealogy, genealogical ...)

  • Browse the Subject(s) field in records to find the right words for searches. (Example: Try doing a keyword search for "military service records," then look at the subject(s) field in several records. You’ll see that the subject term is "United States--Armed Forces--Records and correspondence." Click the subject heading to find more records with this subject.)

• Revise and refine your searches.

• Watch for repeating call numbers and browse stacks in that area.

• Pay attention to the Location and Status fields. You will need this information to locate the item in the library.

Sample search terms:

  Subject Heading Browse:

• Genealogy
• Genealogical literature
• African American families
• Freedmen
• Slave narratives
• Mobile (Ala.)--Genealogy
• Alabama--Genealogy
• United States--Genealogy
• Emigration and immigration
• Land grants
• Obituaries
• Registers of births, etc.
• Ships--Passenger lists 

  Keyword:

• "records and correspondence"
• "archival resources"
• Immigra?
• Registers

For additional help, see the introductory guide Basic Guide to SOUTHcat