Genealogy Weekend & Illinois State Archives

Special genealogy program for June....

A special Genealogy Weekend will be held at the library on June 13th and June 14th. The Genealogy Librarian will be here all weekend specifically to assist with genealogy questions, getting started in genealogy, assistance with HeritageQuest and Ancestry.com, and offer suggestions to further your genealogical quest.

Mr. Greg Cox from the Illinois State Archives will be the guest speaker on June 13th as part of the Library's Genealogy Weekend. Mr. Cox's program will start at 10:30. Mr. Cox is a fifteen year employee of the Secretary of State, State of Illinois. Formerly a Micrographic Equipment Operator filming historical documents, Greg is now employed with the Reference Section as a Records Archivist assisting patrons with their genealogical research. Greg is the Archives' resident genealogical speaker, utilizing a forum-style presentation involving audience participation. His presentation of approximately 45 minutes consists of the available genealogical resources found in the Illinois State Archives. Records he discusses in some detail include the Census, both State and Federal, death certificates, and County records held in seven State depositories. He also covers lesser-known resources such as the Application for Bonus of military veterans of various wars, original land registers, Civil War Muster Rolls, Servitude and Emancipation Records and more.

Computer system

The Harrisburg District Library is a member of the Shawnee Library System, along with most of the libraries in Southern Illinois. The storm that passed through the area on Friday May 8th, struck the Carterville headquarters for the Shawnee Library System, taking out their electrical system (along with part of their roof and various other damage). Thus our library lost major parts of our computer operating systems. The staff used an emergency system to enable us to check out books for our patrons. Without our computerized system we weren't able to provide the complete range of services our patrons are used to. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused our patrons, especially our Internet users. The Shawnee Library System staff have worked extremely hard to restore those services for us, so we can in turn resume our normal operations. Thank you all for your patience and understanding this past week.

Help with online genealogy research

The May genealogy program will be held on Saturday May 23, 2009 10:30-11:30 in the adult computer lab. The workshop will provide hands on practice and tips on using various Internet sources for genealogical research. This program will focus on helping you become familiar with using the Internet to further your research , so bring your research material!



Watch for information regarding the upcoming genealogy weekend in June!

HeritageQuest focus of this month's Genealogy Program

Did you know that the Harrisburg District Library provides our patrons with free access to HeritageQuest through the library's website? If you have a valid Harrisburg District Library card you can even access HeritageQuest from home at anytime! HeritageQuest is a subscription based genealogy research site. This month's Genealogy program will guide you through accessing the site, features of the site and how to use the site. The class will be on Saturday April 25th 10:30-11:30. This will be a hands on learning experience. Basic computer skills are required.

National Library Week

Check out the library's calendar for special events during National Library Week, April 12-18, 2009. Events include the popular annual Trivia Night on Thursday night. Teams of up to six members welcome. Register early and pay $7.00 per team, or register at the door for $8.00 per team. Fantastic prizes for the winners! See how much trivia you actually know, you may surprise yourself!

Traveling Exhibit Tells Unknown Story of German POWs Held in Midwest Camps During WWII

During World War II the Midwest was home to approximately 250 prisoners of war camps. Tens of thousands of the 380,000 Germans imprisoned across the U.S. during World War II were held in the Midwest, part of the millions of Axis and Allied prisoners held across the world. These prisoners embody ageless and timely themes of war and peace, justice during times of war, human rights, international reconciliation and potential lessons for avoiding future conflicts and human rights and wrongs. Housed in a bus made into a mobile museum with a 21-seat theater, HELD IN THE HEARTLAND illustrates this unknown story through narrative texts, artifacts & media.


On March 28, 2009 the library will host the TRACES BUS-eum, Held in the Heartland. The BUS-eum will be parked on the library parking lot and will be open for visitors 10:30 -5:30.


The TRACES Center for History and Culture is a Midwest,WWII history museum in downtown Saint Paul, MN’s historic Landmark Center (formerly 1896 Federal Courts Building). Each of its more than two dozen exhibits about Midwesterners’ encounters with Germans or Austrians between 1933 and 1948 forms part of a larger mosaic, a fuller image of a war that is often misunderstood or seen in clichés. At TRACES, WWII is a case study to learn from for today and future generations.


Please make plans to visit the traveling museum. The library is also scheduling interviews for the Veterans oral history project. If you are a veteran, please consider sharing your valuable memories with us and future generations. To schedule an appointment or for more information about the project or the traveling museum, call the library at 253-7455 and ask for Ruth or Sherry.

Preserving your photographs and documents

Kristina Blevins the Assistant Director will be presenting this month's genealogy program. On Saturday, February 28th at 10:30, she will discuss methods for preserving your documents and photos. Kristina graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2003 with a B.A. in English specializing in pre-professional writing. She spent a semester as a post-graduate student studying museum practices and interned at the SIUC museum archives in the fall of 2006. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in the fall of 2007 with a Master's in Library and Information Science. During her tenure there she interned in the William T. Young Acquisitions Department, where she spent two days a week helping out in the conservation laboratory tipping-in pages, doing deacidification and humidification of documents, pamphlet sewing, constructing phase boxes, learning triage, and using the sonic welder to encapsulate.
Please make plans to join us and learn how to save your photos and documents for future generations to enjoy.