Much as we may like to sit in the comfort of our own home and conduct genealogy research online, if you've spent anytime at all looking into your family's past, you probably know that at some stage in your research you'll need to use a library (no one said playing detective was easy). And if you really want to take your research to the next level, the library that will be the most valuable to you is the one in your ancestor's hometown.

If you're lucky enough to live in the same county where your family has lived for several generations, you're a step ahead of the game. With a short trip, you'll be able to access the records that your ancestors generated as they lived their daily lives. If you don't live in the area, you may want to make plans to take a trip and spend several days if you want to get serious about your research.

Go to the library in the closest city or town where your family lived, and ask whether they have a genealogy section. Even if they don't, they will have a local history section. In the genealogy section, you'll find individual published family histories, and much more published material that's related to families who lived in the region. In the local history section, you'll find books, leaflets, scrapbooks, photographs, manuscripts, and other local material that has been acquired by the library, usually by donation.

A Wealth of Information at Your Fingertips

Before you set off for your library visit, collect all the factual information you have on those family members who lived in the area: their names, the dates of their births, marriages and death.

At the library, you're looking for records of the events in your ancestors' lives. For example, if you can find out what church they attended, you can later try to locate the church records that were generated. Yes, it may occasionally feel as if you're searching for a needle in a haystack, but be persistent. If your family lived in the area, they generated records, and you'll find them. Each additional snippet of information will lead you to more, and you'll become more experienced in searching as well.

Here are six sources of information most libraries will have that can be invaluable to the amateur genealogist - sources that many beginners don't even know exist:

First settlers' records and memorabilia: Historical societies in many counties work to collect information on the early settlers to an area. You're likely to find anything from book manuscripts to maps, to taped interviews in this section. Look for any mention of your ancestors' names. If you don't find anything, note down the names of the people who created the information, or the names of the officers of the historical society. If you contact them, they may be able to help you.

Obituary and necrology indices: Many libraries have collections of old obituaries. Look through these for any mention of your ancestors' names.

County histories and indices: Every county has a county history published in the late 19th century or early 20th century, and some have several; they were very popular in that era. They contain the histories of the towns and cities in the county, with photographs or drawings of the early settlers. You may find photos of your ancestors, with short biographies. Check with the librarian whether indices have been created of the information, because these histories didn't normally include them when they were first prepared. If there's no index, you'll be spending considerable time looking through the pages for your ancestors' names.

Scrapbooks: Scrapbooking has recently experienced a resurgence, and it was a popular pastime early in the 20th century as well. You may be lucky enough to find a scrapbook with an article about an ancestor.

Voting registers: Your library may have published voting registers, and these contain a lot of information - it was written down so that people could be identified. You'll find information like age, physical description including color of hair and eyes, address, occupation, and country of birth. There could even be more information, depending on where and when the register was created.

City directories: Many cities have directories, some dating from the early 19th century. In city directories look for your ancestors' names, their occupations, other people who lived at your ancestors' address, and the first time your ancestor was listed - this proves that he was a recent arrival in the area.