Cultivating Your Family Tree

Once the pristine pastime of blue bloods tracing their pedigrees back to the "Mayflower," genealogy--from hobby to serious endeavor--has broadened and deepened into a democratic avocation. It was Alex Haley's "Roots," published 30 years ago, with the hugely popular TV miniseries coming a year later, that likely started the boom. Television still plays a role in promoting the appeal: a 2006 PBS series "African American Lives" illuminated scientific advances in genealogical research. The democratization of the hobby applies to end users and ancestors alike. A small budget does not mean that a library's genealogical collection cannot be up-to-date. There are core resources that are ideal for getting patrons started, and there are materials that offer goodies both to starters and seasoned researchers. This article offers a selection of titles to elicit research excitement and a web exclusive Genealogical Periodicals list.