Submitted by Wilma Allen
Friends of the Library
Communications Chair
April 20, 2015 5:14 a.m.
EXPLORING YOUR ROOTS AND LOCAL HISTORY
Ever wonder who your ancestors were, or if there are any famous (or infamous) people in your family’s past? If so, you’re not alone. Interest has grown so rapidly in recent years that the library is creating a special genealogy and local history section. It will be better equipped for researchers than the crowded, sometimes noisy corner it occupied in the past. You’ll find genealogy texts, regional histories, how-to manuals, computers, a printer and more, with plenty of space to spread out maps and family trees.
“Genealogy has always been popular in Fernandina Beach, maybe because our citizens are surrounded by so much history and our library’s patrons have been so willing to share their knowledge and resources,” says Janet Loveless, library branch director.
Almost 1,000 books belonging to the Amelia Island Genealogical Society (AIGS) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) supplement the library’s collections. They are stored there for all to use, says Gloria Toomey an active member of both organizations who teaches a beginner genealogy course at the library. “We’ve kept our collection at the library for two decades and are looking forward to having an area set aside with more space and the possibility of adding new materials,” she says.
“We’re very fortunate that local organizations are so supportive of the library,” says Bill Flynn, President, Friends of the Fernandina Beach Library (FOL). “The Duncan Lamont Clinch Historical Society, AIGS, and other groups have contributed for many years, including funds for FOL’s current building campaign”.
Marsha Dean Phelts, author and FOL board member, is an enthusiastic contributor. “Throughout my life I have found the library to be my greatest material resource,” she says. “I was using the library before I was in first grade, was a librarian for 37 years, and if I have any say in it, I’ll be a librarian in my next life. When I found some of my ancestors through census and voting records, marriage licenses, property deed books, city directories and the like, I was hooked on Genealogy,” she says. “Learning your family’s history serves as a challenge to fulfill your responsibility to legacies of your ancestors. I’ve especially enjoyed leading elementary school students on search projects for their ancestors.”
Local and family histories are intricately connected, so the library houses them together. In the new section you’ll find a great collection on Florida history, and thanks to a gift of the Fernandina Beach News Leader, ‘Florida’s oldest weekly newspaper,’ you can peruse a century and a half of local news-of-the-day on microfilm.
If you need help using computers, scanners, software programs and other technology, ask a librarian. If your forebears are not from North Florida, you can get help borrowing materials from other libraries and access a wealth of historical data for free with library’s edition of Ancestry.com. It’s paid for with proceeds from FOL’s spring and fall book sales.
You’ll find many other exciting new features when the expanded library opens this spring: a youth and career center; a spacious children’s room; technology center with high speed internet, and comfortable spaces for reading, meetings and group study. More on these to come.
FOL’s campaign to build a new addition and remodel our extremely busy library has raised about 85% of the $2.4 million goal. A new wing is now open and the entire library will open soon, but $360,000 is still needed for new furniture, equipment, electronics, technology and collection upgrades. Every gift is critical and greatly appreciated. Visit www.fernandinaFOL.org to make a secure contribution online, or mail your check or pledge to PO Box 17155, Fernandina Beach, FL 32025. You can also call (904)321-6529 or e-mail FOL at [email protected] .
Thank you for your support.