LIBRARY LOCATION
1255 W. South Side Drive, Decatur, Illinois
STAFF
The library is staffed entirely by volunteers.
HOURS
Our hours for now are: Wednesday and Saturday 10:00 - 4:00
E-MAIL: DecaturGenSoc@att.net
LIBRARY USE
Use of the library is free to members.
A small donation is asked of non-members.
HOLDINGS
The library collection, valued at over $250,000+, is one of the largest private genealogical libraries in downstate Illinois.
It contains a section on every county in;Illinois, every state in the United States and information on some foreign countries.
The holdings have all been entered in the computer and there is a printout in each section.
Printout includes:
Call#
Style - book, CD, film, fiche etc
Type - birth, death, census etc
Title
X-Index - where it is located if it is a cross-index entry.
We have made a cross-index entry for all books which cover more than one area or type of record. Every book in the Family History Section has been cross-indexed to 10 - 20 of the main names.
There is a misc folder in each section for tidbits of information on that section. These are #1 in each section.
All donated items, books sent for review, exchange quarterlies, manuscripts, etc., become the property of the Decatur Genealogical Society and are placed in the society's library for research purposes.
BOOK CHECKOUT
Much of the holdings circulate. Persons with a single membership may
check out 3 books for a period of two weeks and persons with a family memberships may check out 6 books for a period of two weeks. This must be done in person. We do not do inter-library loan.
There is no checkout of books during the months of July, August & September for convenience of summer visitors
STEPHEN DECATUR NSDAR LIBRARY
The Stephen Decatur NSDAR Library holdings are also located in our building. These books do not circulate but can be used by all patrons for research.
MISCELLANEOUS SECTIONS
American History (basic history books)
Atlas (old & new - these help locate towns)
Bible (we are a repository for Family Bibles)
Black History (a growing section)
Catalog (lists of books available)
Church (books on particular denominations or areas)
Colonial & New England (reference books that cover that time period)
Computer (reference books plus a listing of cd's we have)
Dictionary (basic dictionaries plus ones specifically for genealogy
Fraternal (lodge & organization information - local, state & national)
General Reference (reference books for genealogical research)
Heraldry (Coats of Arms, Crests & Landed Gentry information)
How To (large section of specific types of research books)
Immigration (emigration, immigration, passenger lists, naturalization)
Land (Land records on a national scope)
Library (information on other libraries, archives & repositories)
Map (many of these have been incapsulated so they may be viewed or copied more readily)
Mayflower (a large collection for this specific area)
Military (there is a section for each war from the Indian Wars to the Vietnam war)
Native American (research books relating to the early inhabitants)
Patriotic (sections include DAR,GAR,Col Dau etc)
Surname (surnames of interest & books of ancestor charts)
To Buy or Not to Buy (samples of books published by questionable co's)
Who's Who (Who's Who in Midwest, America, Chicago, Students etc)
MACON COUNTY SECTION
We strive to collect everything that has been published on Macon County. We also have much unpublished information.
We are a repository for original Macon County Records.
The original Probate Packets for Macon county thru 1979 are housed at our library and are available for research.
We also have some original affidavits from the recorder of deeds office with an index to every name contained in them.
ILLINOIS SECTION
Contains something on every county of Illinois. We have exchanged publications with many counties and purchased from some.
OTHER STATES SECTION
Contains something on every state in the United States. Because a large part of the holdings is donated by the members,
it denotes the interest of the members, with the largest areas outside of Illinois being the states south and east of Illinois.
FOREIGN SECTION
Some information on several countries with large sections on: England, Germany,Ireland & Scotland.
FAMILY HISTORY SECTION
We have a large, ever growing Family History Section. We sponsored a Family Book Contest for several years and received many really good books. Many others have been donated.
ANCESTOR BANK
(Contained in Family History Section)
We encourage everyone to let us make a copy of their research and place it within this section. These are placed on the shelf for patron use. These books do not circulate but if something happens to the original, then all is not lost.
PERIODICAL SECTION
Contains Quarterlies & Newsletters from all over the US. We exchange with over 165 other societies and many others are donated. There is a card index to the articles by location and by surname.
FILM & FICHE SECTION
All the film & fiche are listed in the holdings for the area it covers.
CD SECTION
All the CD's are listed in the holdings for the area it covers.
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