Little-Used NGS Resources: The Book Loan Collection
I don’t blame you. I really don’t. I’ve never used it myself. So who am I to point a finger?
When the National Genealogical Society was founded in 1903 in Washington, DC, it established a library for its members. That library continued to grow for the next 98 years, amassing more than 20,000 volumes of family histories; state, county, and local histories; and records of cemeteries, churches, courts, deeds, marriages, wills, and administrations.
In 2001, those 20,000+ volumes were transferred to the St. Louis County Library, which manages the collection. The books are now available for members and non-members alike through interlibrary loan to your local library. In addition, some of the library’s books that are not part of the NGS collection are also available for interlibrary loan. The SLCL catalog is available here, or you can search among NGS books only here. Note that books with call numbers beginning with “R” are reference books and are not available for interlibrary loan.
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About Author
Aaron Goodwin
Aaron is a genealogist and house historian specializing in New York City research across all time periods, from the Dutch colonial era to the 20th century. His book, New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians, won the National Genealogical Society’s 2017 Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources. He is also editor of NGS Monthly, former contributing editor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and former editor of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. In 2011, he received the American Society of Genealogists’ Scholar Award.
I think there’s a reason it’s not used much. I don’t find it very user friendly. I found a book I’ve been looking for, but I can’t figure out whether it’s part of the NGS collection or how to request it. The instructions on using interlibrary loan seem geared to requesting materials from other libraries to come into SLCL, not the other way around.
Hi, Janet. I don’t entirely disagree with the user-friendly comment. That said, we can make this a little easier on you. Click on this link for better details and instructions for requesting interlibrary loan: https://www.slcl.org/content/lookups-other-services#ill . I’ve also updated the NGS Monthly post with this link. As for determining whether or not a book is in the NGS collection, it ultimately doesn’t matter. Most of SLCL’s books are available for interlibrary loan. But I included a link in the article that links directly to the NGS collection in SLCL’s catalog. Hope this helps!