Montana State Genealogical Society is Putting Collections Online
The Montana State Genealogical Society Libraryis located in Helena, Montana. The library has started working to have most of its collection available online.
The library includes Montana city directories, annuals, family books, and research books from many counties and states. The Montana Historical Society donated all of their non-Montana genealogical books that now reside in the library. A list of records, including cemeteries and obituaries, Lewis and Clark County records, Probate Records, and Other records of interest is available on their website (as PDF files).
The Lewis and Clark Genealogical Society requests a $10.00 donation to research basic queries for non-members. If the $10.00 does not cover all expenses. An additional amount will be added when they send you your information. A basic query is defined as researching up to three surnames.
The Montana State Genealogical Library takes up a small corner of the Lewis and Clark Library. According to KRTV 3, they have “a vast collection of dense tomes that need to be digitized.”
This is being made possible through a partnership with FamilySearch, a service that is provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch provided a book scanner and full-time volunteers. Each book needs to be scanned page by page. Every page is audited, to make sure it isn’t blurred and to ensure that volunteers didn’t skip a page.
The process of digitizing is expected to last through October of 2020. Completed records will be preserved online.
Digitizing the collection will allow the library to reduce their collection size once they move during the remodeling of the Lewis and Clark Library. None of the books in the current collection will be destroyed. The library is working with other genealogical societies to find homes for books that are no longer needed.
Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:
Wayne County Genealogical Society Finds New Home
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