Everything is on the Internet! WRONG! Though more things are being digitized, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what is available. Don’t forget to check out the libraries and archives where your ancestors lived as well as your own home town, you might be surprised!
Below are some hints on how to find digitized books and documents online. Do you know of a book but its not digitized or online? Have you heard of Inter-library loan or Worldcat?
Libraries
(OCLC) WorldCat: http://www.worldcat.org
Stands for “World Catalog” linking libraries together from around the world. Looking for a certain book that your library doesn’t have? Type it into WorldCat and it will tell you the closest library that has it. Nothing close to you? Try an Inter-library loan. (See below) NOTE: libraries do have to pay to be part of WorldCat so some libraries may not participate.
Inter-Library Loan:
Most libraries offer this service. Some libraries are part of a local network, for instance if there are many libraries in your city or county. In this case, you can usually borrow books under the same guidelines as your home library. Inter-Library loans go beyond that, some even worldwide. Usually there is a nominal fee to use this service. The lending library sets the guidelines for borrowing the book; you may not be able to take it out of your home library and it may only be there for a short time. I had a great experience, I was able to take the book home for two weeks! Again, that might not be the case for you. You can find books through WorldCat (see above). Talk with your local reference librarian for more information.
Digital Public Library of America: https://dp.la/
“Discover 33,631,597 images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States”
Hathi Trust Digital Library: https://www.hathitrust.org
A great place to look for hard to find books.
“HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world”
The New York Public Library Digital Collection https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/
Libraries and Archives: www.usa.gov/libraries
An official U.S. government website of Public, State and Federal Libraries and Archives.
Archives
Internet Archive (Wayback Machine): https://archive.org/web
The Wayback Machine (are you old enough to remember Mr. Peabody cartoons?) began in 1996 as a way to archive the internet. Can’t find that website that disappeared? You might here. It has grown to billions of digital works in all forms of media.
(OCLC) Archive Grid: researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid
“ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.”
250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives
https://oedb.org/ilibrarian/250-plus-killer-digital-libraries-and-archives/
“This list contains over 250 libraries and archives that focus mainly on localized, regional, and U.S. history, but it also includes larger collections, eText and eBook repositories.”
Maps
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection http://www.davidrumsey.com
“The collection includes rare 16th through 21st century maps of America, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific, Artic, Antarctic and the World.” The physical collection is housed at Standford University Library.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection: legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps
Historical maps from all over the world. Housed at the University of Texas, Austin.
The History of Cartography: mymodernmet.com/history-of-cartography-university-of-chicago-press The history of Cartography Project began in the 1980’s. The first three volumes are online and can be downloaded for free.
Michelle's Genealogical Website 