We had a terrific meeting of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society yesterday, and I will have much to blog about in future posts. One of the many terrific highlights was the announcement that Spokane Public Library patrons now have access to the HeritageQuest Online Index! In a community this size, it's been a wonder that this subscription has not been made sooner; although the library district, like many around the country, has been hit with severe budget cuts in the last decade.
This subscription entitles the patron to view the images of U.S. Federal Censuses from 1790 to 1930 (these are indexed by head of household only); search 20,000 family and local history books; search the Periodical Source Index for 1.9 million genealogy and local history articals in various publications; search selected records from the Revolutionary War Era Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application files; and search for individuals in the Freedman's Bank (1865 - 1874), which was founded to serve African-Americans.
To use this subscription, go to the Spokane Public Library website (www.spokanelibrary.org), and click on "Research" in the left-hand menu, then on "Electronic Resources" in the drop-down menu. Next choose "Genealogy" from the list of topics. Under the Genealogy title, choose "Heritage Quest." You must then enter your 14-digit SPL patron number (found on your library card), without dashes or spaces.
Spokane County Library patrons already have access to Heritage Quest Online, as well as AncestryPlus (a library subscription to a limited number of Ancestry.com databases). To access these subscriptions, go the the Spokane County Library website at http://www.scld.lib.wa.us/ and click on the "Research" tab near the top of the page. Choose "Information Databases" from the drop-down menu, then pick either AncestryPlus or HeritageQuest from the list of Library Databases. You will be instructed to enter your library card number.
If you are not from the Spokane area, you may wish to check with Dick Eastman's website for a list of library districts nationwide that offer HeritageQuest to their patrons.
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