Dare I Say, “Happy Spring?”

May 1, 2024

March 19 was the first day of spring, but since then the weather has had its ups and downs like any ol’ Midwestern season. Following that pattern, or lack thereof, let’s celebrate some of the things we associate with springtime. In celebrating the diverse weather that shows itself this time of year, MGC would like to share a plethora of new and/or re-born possibilities. What does that mean for the Midwest Genealogy Center? We’re so happy you asked!

During the winter months we made some exciting changes to parts of our reference material. For example, please check out our Audio & Video Collection. Once housed on the first floor, it now resides on the second floor and has had a makeover. Our collection includes over 1500 CDs and more than 200 DVDs, and we have a guide to help you navigate the catalog. If you have a favorite speaker, we can find every recording we have by them. Do you want to revisit a conference you attended or missed? We can search for specific years or find the latest releases. You can also place holds from your MCPL account, and we will have your titles waiting at the front desk or sent to your neighborhood branch. We always love to have you visit the branch in-person, but if that’s not an option, please feel free to place holds on these items. Seriously, check them out and take them home!

Newer additions to the library include material from the following locales: Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, New Mexico and other states of the American Southwest, Greece, Hawaii, Germany, Serbia, Russia, French Canada, and Great Britain. Of historical importance, you’ll notice we’ve added the Yizkor Books, Slave Narratives, LBGTQ histories, Witchcraft genealogies, Carpathian books, Germans from Russia records, Native American records, Civil War regimental records, and genealogies of the Melungeon people.

Did someone say classes? We have new and updated versions of those, too. Our staff is hard at work consulting, researching, and developing classes with new topics and interests. We are also working on keeping our current classes up-to-date with new information. as needed. We premiered our Periodicals class in January, as well as our two-part DNA series in February. If you missed either of those, keep your eyes peeled for their return this summer. All of our classes, whether taught by staff or by outside presenters, are listed on our website.

There’s no set age to be “bitten” by the genealogy bug. We want to make genealogy fun for the whole family, from toddlers to seniors. For children of all ages there’s Exploring Family Trees: MGC Storytime, which is a reoccurring event. For ages 6 and up there is Kids Create Stories and Discovering Your Family’s Story*. Last but certainly not least is our Genes For Teens class*. (*The next session is this summer). Last, but not least, join us for Family Fun Day June 1st, more details to come. Keep an eye out online, in your favorite branch, or through our Program Guides!

We can’t forget the Memory Lab, a do-it-yourself space that provides equipment for digitizing materials such as home movies, audio tapes, recipe books, and family photographs. You can make an appointment here! There’s so much to share that we can’t fit it all in just one blog.