What if I told you that millions of genealogical articles are discoverable online? Believe it or not, you can find them using PERSI (the Periodical Source Index) provided by Allen County Public Library!
Comprised of publications from genealogical societies across the world, this amazing search engine makes it possible to search by title, keyword, geographic location, surname, and more. You can even peruse the Research Techniques tool to locate certain record types (e.g., deeds, maps, obituaries, etc.) and the locations associated with each.
Go ahead and try out PERSI! Once your search results load, you can use the Search box above the results to add additional keywords, or you can use the search boxes below the results to further focus and find more relevant resources. This includes options to search the location, article title, periodical title, publication year, or publisher. (By the way, periodical is just another word for magazine, journal, newsletter, or other items that are published periodically.) Please note, the search is not full text, so it does not retrieve results for keywords within an article. It only searches the title, author, date, location, etc.
Since PERSI is an index, it does not give you online access to articles; however, you have options! You may be able to find the articles online via society websites, Google Books (if they’re older), or elsewhere. You can also request them through interlibrary loan, which may require you to pay to receive scans of the articles, depending upon the owning library’s policy. Finally, you can use Allen County’s request form and provide advanced payment.
Want to learn more about using PERSI? Explore the FamilySearch wiki and watch the Family Tree Maker brief introductory video or Allen County’s extensive introductory video. HINT: You can use the Chapters below the video to move to sections of interest.
Categories: Genealogy
