Augusta Public Library Local History and Genealogy

Press Release
19 February 2015

Augusta-Richmond County Public Library Expands Genealogy Resources

SALT LAKE CITY—Augusta-Richmond County Public Library announced today it is the newest FamilySearch affiliate library. The new description means library patrons will have greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources available through FamilySearch.

FamilySearch is the world’s largest repository of free genealogical records and manages the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has amassed billions of birth, marriage, death, census, land and court records of genealogical significance from over 130 countries.

FamilySearch is extending access to its collections by circulating microfilms of the historic records through select public libraries. The Augusta-Richmond County Public Library is now one of those libraries. It is a priceless resource for local residents interested in discovering their family tree.

“Less than 5% of the world’s genealogical records are available online, and most family history researchers cannot afford to travel to an archive nationally or worldwide to find the historic records they are seeking,” said Paul Nauta, FamilySearch public affairs manager. “If FamilySearch has filmed the records they need, then as far as they will need to travel to view them is the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library.”

FamilySearch has over 200 camera teams filming historic records in 45 countries on any given day. These records are then circulated to public patrons through FamilySearch centers worldwide, like the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library. For example, FamilySearch has filmed over 60% of the Civil Registration (birth, marriage, and death records) of Italy. If you have Italian ancestry, chances are you will be able to extend your Italian research by conveniently using the FamilySearch films through the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library.

There is a nominal fee of $7.50 to order microfilm. Once the film arrives, patrons use the microfilm readers at the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library to peruse it. The library staff can assist patrons see what films are available, place film orders, and answer research questions. Patrons can also search the Family History Library Catalog online at FamilySearch.org to see what records FamilySearch has available to order through the library.

Augusta-Richmond County Public Library
Georgia Heritage Room
(706) 826-1511

In light of the recent news that Georgia’s only female death row inmate will be executed later this month, the Georgia Heritage Room is presenting, From Deviance to Death Row: A History of Women’s Imprisonment. Kelly Gissendaner who was sentenced to death in 1998 following a conviction for enlisting her lover to kill her husband, will be the second woman in Georgia’s history to be executed. The first, Lena Baker, was electrocuted in 1945 for killing her employer, but later pardoned when it was determined she acted in self-defense.

Join us on Thursday, March 19th at 2:00 pm as Dr. Allison J. Foley, Associate Professor of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Social Work at GRU, discusses female imprisonment and the death penalty.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4818124

Reese Library will host panel discussion on Feb. 25

Reese Library will host a discussion titled “Brown vs. Board of Education: A Panel on School Segregation and Integration” on Wednesday, February 25, at the JSAC Coffeehouse from 6:30 to 8 p.m. A little over 60 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was illegal in the landmark case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Join us as we listen to the stories of African Americans who experienced school segregation and those whose lives were transformed by school integration. Parking will be free. For more information about this event, please contact Erin Prentiss at 706-667-4912.

The Robert B. Greenblatt, M.D. Library is hosting the Opening Doors: Contemporary African-American Academic Surgeons traveling exhibit from the National Library of Medicine. This exhibit celebrates the contributions of African-American academic surgeons to medicine and medical education. It was developed and produced by the NLM and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture. The Opening Doors exhibit is free and open to the public. January 31, 2015 will be the last day of the exhibit.

The Greenblatt Library at GRU’s Health Sciences campus off of Laney-Walker is open:

•Mon-Thu: 7:30 a.m. – Midnight
•Fri: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
•Sat: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
•Sun: 12:00 noon – 12:00 midnight

For more information, please call the library at 706-721-3441.

As part of a thesis project to complete his music degree at ASU, Robert Hester explored the origins of five slave spirituals written in Augusta, Georgia, and included in the 1867 anthology, Slave Songs of the United States. Mr. Hester will discuss his research and findings, and local African-American choral group, Creative Impressions will perform from the repertoire

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The Georgia Heritage Room will exhibit a collection of rare and antique books on loan from historian and writer, Elvin Thompson. Some of the books included are: an 1852 first edition two volume set of UNCLE TOM’S CABIN by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an 1855 first edition of MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM by Frederick Douglass, an 1880 second edition of A FOOL’S ERRAND by Albion W. Tourgee, and many other works. The exhibit will run through the month of February in honor of Black History Month.

This is a call out to artists, craftspeople and collectors in the CSRA. The Georgia Heritage Room at the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library is seeking interesting and unique materials for public display. If you are a collector of vintage memorabilia and ephemera, or a craftsperson seeking an exhibition space for your wares, we will consider giving you the opportunity to show off your work. The exhibit does not necessarily have to be related to local history or genealogy, but first priority will be given to those that do. Exhibits typically run for 8 weeks. Please contact Tina Monaco at 706.826.1511 for details, or email at genealogy@arcpls.org.

The Georgia Heritage Room is honored to present author and genealogist, Elvin Thompson on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. in the main auditorium of the Headquarters Library. Elvin Thompson is a historian who specializes in tracing African American ancestry. He has been conducting genealogical research since 1992, and assists both the novice and advanced genealogist with common problems that arise when researching African American family roots prior to the Civil War. He is also the author of THE BLOOD RUNNING THROUGH MY VEINS, the story of the Burns family from the slave plantations of Autauga County, Alabama.

Please join us in the Georgia Heritage Room on Thursday, January 8th at 2:00 pm for our visiting author book discussion with Robert Mullins. Mr. Mullins will be here to discuss his recently published history of Lake Olmstead, 12 Monkeys & A Green Jacket.

The Augusta-Richmond County Public Library is gearing up for Adult Winter Reading. Please support your local library.