microfilm

Genealogy is largely the process of answering two questions:
1. What do I want to know?
2. Where can I find the answer?

A few months ago, I was helping a client find a deceased person’s next of kin. Having exhausted other options, we worked on finding obituaries. The newspapers and obituaries we wanted were not online! So, I contacted the local library where the person died (Hemet, California). The librarian there pointed me to the California State Library at Sacramento. A few good old fashioned phone calls and very helpful library staff told me which local newspapers existed and were available on microfilm.

To sum it up:

1. I was looking for next of kin.
2. The obituary I wanted was not available online on sites like genealogybank.com, newspapers.com, or newspaperarchive.com.
3. I made some phone calls.
4. I talked to the California State Library at Sacramento.
5. They told me which newspapers they had for Riverside and Hemet, California.
6. I contacted my local library.
7. My local library requested the newspapers and dates I wanted.
8. After a few weeks, the newspapers I wanted arrived in the form of microfilm.
9. I searched the newspapers page by page using a microfilm reader.
10. I found obituaries and death notices that helped answer our question!

#microfilm #obituaries #interlibraryloan #nextofkin