SHELBY — The Shelby-Richland County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society recently donated $1,000 to the Marvin Memorial Library to purchase a computer, printer and other items needed for the Marvin Room.
The room houses hundreds of books of interest to genealogists and a microfilm library of the Shelby Daily Globe dating to 1900, as well as earlier Shelby newspapers. Researchers can also find local family trees that genealogists have contributed.
The computer system will allow those looking for family history to access popular research sites such as Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org for free, according to library director Kathy Webb.
“This gift, alongside laptops we hope to purchase, eventually will allow us to offer genealogy classes in collaboration with the chapter,” Webb said. “We also hope to upgrade the microfilm reader.”
Researching family trees has become more popular recently with shows like TLC’s “Who do You Think You Are?” The chapter is planning to host “office hours” in the fall geared toward assisting people unlock the keys to their own family history, especially in Shelby.
“There’s a lot of printed material and obituaries in the Marvin Room that our chapter has collected over the years,” said chapter president Doris Yetzer. “Now, we will be able to teach beginning genealogists how to perform research online. Sometimes you need a variety of tools in your toolkit to find that one piece of information that will unlock more information.”
The Marvin Room is open to the public during normal library hours – Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
