THE WISDOM CONCERNING genealogy in public libraries is conventional Good professional practice, distilled in a stream of articles in state and national journals, has produced two major tenets The first is that a public library should attempt to serve the needs of genealogists, even though the prospect may be distasteful to the library staff, because genealogists are taxpayers too' The second tenet is that the genealogy collection in a public library should focus on the immediate locale or the state in which the library is located, because financial limitations and bibliographic difficulties are very great' I have no quarrel with the conventional wisdom It has produced positive results in many public libraries in the United States However, it has also limited the scope of genealogical activity and achievement in many public libraries Strange methods and violations of the conventional wisdom, as the history of genealogy at the Fort Wayne Public Library (reorganized as the Allen County Public Library in 1980)demonstrates, can generate excellent library service, important individual achievement and national institutional recognition Stated most broadly, the way everybody else does it may not necessarily be the way to do it when librarians make a commitment to excellence Idiosyncratic practices, along with the conventional wisdom, can shape outstanding institutions and services

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/7303/librarytrendsv32i1h_opt.pdf?sequence=1

Using Local History and Genealogy to Build Library Support.

A Commitment to Excellence in Genealogy: How the Public Library Became the Only Tourist Attraction in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Anyone who peruses the "Acknowledg ments" sections or prefaces of scholarly his tory books realizes that public libraries play a very small role in providing histori cal research materials. Most frequently, scholars offer thanks to staffs of private ar chival collections and academic libraries for helping them in their projects. Occa sionally, major public libraries receive rec ognition for their special collections or their archives. Seldom are staff members of small or medium-sized public libraries acknowl edged for assisting professional historians with their tasks of research, writing, and teaching.* The reasons are simple. Most historians fail to take maximum advantage of the resources of public libraries and most librarians do not specifically seek the patronage of historians. Public librarians seem to shy away from trying to cultivate a relationship that would be mutually bene ficial.

Historical Research and Medium-Sized Public Libraries: The Potential.

American Association for State and Local History. History News. July 1941 + (Nashville, TN 37204: AASLH, 708 Berry Road), ISSN 0162-0266. $40. Each monthly issue contains an insert, "Technical Leaflet/' varying in length from eight to twelve pages about current relevant topics that offer practical sugges tions about the acquisition, maintenance, funding, and preservation of various local history materials. Directed toward the his torical agency library (museum, society), much of the information provided is pre cisely what public librarians need to know to grasp their role more clearly in provid ing access to local history material within their areas of responsibility.

Using Local History and Genealogy to Build Library Support.

Citations

A Commitment to Excellence in Genealogy: How the Public Library Became the Only Tourist Attraction in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Historical Research and Medium-Sized Public Libraries: The Potential.

Establishing Local History Collections