Genealogy
Database Services
Newman Regional Library is offering digital genealogy services for Newman Regional Library cardholders and visitors. You may access thousands of databases and billions of records while visiting the library with a powerful yet friendly interface with Ancestry Library Edition. Many of those same resources are also available from home at HeritageQuest, powered by Ancestry. Also available anywhere is Fold3, a database collection focused on military service.
Ancestry Library Edition (ALE)
ALE is accessible only while present in the library and using our network. You can certainly do so with your own phone or laptop, but you must be accessing the site with our local network address. While doing so you will have access to over 30,000 Ancestry.com record collections and 11 billion records through an easy to use and friendly interface. The Library Edition does not feature the ability to create family trees.
You can access Ancestry Library Edition by clicking here. Must be present in the library to use this.
HeritageQuest
HeritageQuest, a product created by Ancestry, is available for at home use. You can look up your family history in your pajamas in the comfort of your own easy chair. Log in with your Newman Regional Library barcode and have access to the same high quality databases you find at Ancestry.com. This available anywhere service is provided in conjunction with Ancestry to help cardholders at Newman Regional Library locate the information they are seeking no matter where they might be located.
You can access HeritageQuest by clicking here. You may access this anywhere with your library card.
Fold3
Fold3 is a collection of databases containing military service records. Like HeritageQuest, you can access Fold3 from anywhere you happen to be. Information is available regarding every major American conflict and more. Greater than half a billion records will be at your fingertips including stories, photos and personal documents.
You can access Fold3 by clicking here. You may access this anywhere with your library card.
Family Trees
None of the above products allows the creation of personal family trees. An account will be required to do so in most cases but you can perform all of your research through the library at no charge. If you are looking for an alternative to the cost of a personal account with Ancestry.com, there are other options available for the construction of a family tree and other services.
FamilySearch.org
Provided free of charge by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch provides genealogical searching services, family tree building and more at no cost to the user. You can login with your Facebook account or create an account on the site. Yes, it's really free. To quote the site, "Yes, FamilySearch really is free. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides FamilySearch free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation." The site was originally intended for use by LDS members but has been since opened up to the world.
You can try it out for yourself by clicking here. This will require you to make a free account.
Gramps
Gramps is an open source software project. With it you can build family trees, fan charts, display maps and even include media files such as images, videos, sound clips or even spreadsheets and other documents, all on your local computer. Instead of your family tree being saved somewhere online, it is saved locally on your hard drive or flash drive. Gramps creates files in the industry standard GEDCOM file format that allows you to exchange information to and from users of most other genealogy programs.
You can download Gramps by clicking here. This will require you to install software.
If you have any technical issues accessing these services, contact the librarian via email or the phone number listed at the bottom of every page on this website.