Kaye Kole Genealogy Local History Room of Live

Kaye Kole Genealogy & Local History Room of Live Oak Public Libraries Site Visitation by Elizabeth Roberds

Site Visitation May 21, 2013 The Kaye Kole Genealogy and Local History Room is located inside the Bull Street Library. The tour was given by Sharen Lee Reference Librarian 14 years of employment in the Genealogy Room To prepare herself for this position, she attended as many genealogy seminars and classes as possible.

Hours of Operation 4 -8 Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday Sunday 9 -6 2 -6

Mission Statement Live Oak Public Libraries provides excellent, responsive service to enrich people's lives, support lifelong learning and build and enhance our communities.

Patrons The greatest percentage of the users are genealogists researching their own family history. College students also use the collection for history, architecture, and biography research. There a few professional genealogists, authors, historians, and tour guide trainees. Considered the second most haunted city in the United States, Savannah is known for its ghosts. New homeowners who find they have unexpected roommates come to research the history of the house and discover who is haunting their home.

Collection State and National Genealogy Periodicals Savannah City Directories Newspaper Index Service Records Index Microfilm Marriage, Death, Land, and Birth Records

Microfilm & Microfiche Collection Microfilm Georgia Soundex from 1880 -1930 New York Times from 1939 to present Early Savannah Newspapers from 17741849 Savannah Morning News from 1850 present Microfiche Georgia Marriage Register from 19641998 Georgia Death Index from 1919 -1998

Online Resources The Live Oak Public Library website contains links to various genealogy resources and databases including: 1940 Census Archives Ancestry Library Edition Georgia Pioneers Heritage Quest Online Savannah Morning News Obituary Index Databases that require subscriptions can be accessed from library computers.

Services Provided Equipment: 3 Public Access Computers Microform reader Photocopier Research Assistance: Staff accept customer requests for information. For a fee, copies of requested information will be mailed to the customer.

Sample of Correspondence Log Kept by Genealogy Staff Regarding Research Requests

Relationships The Kaye Kole Genealogy and Local History Room is part of the Live Oak Public Libraries system and is located within the main library, Bull Street Library. Although there is no official relationship with the Savannah Area Genealogical Association, the genealogy librarian sends a list of new additions to the collection for inclusion in their newsletter.

Common Obstacles Technical problems with equipment such as Microfilm machines, computers, and the copier. A small staff makes it difficult to give all customers the assistance they need. Accessibility: Budget cuts have led to reduced hours, which decrease the opportunities for researchers to utilize the in-house services. Due to the limited number of parking places, 90 minute parking restrictions are enforced. These restrictions make genealogy room use inconvenient.

Ethical Dilemmas Privacy As part of the Live Oak Public Library system, staff in the genealogy room are required to adhere to the same privacy policies as all library employees. Censorship “When research is done for a customer, how do you handle or share negative information discovered? Should you? ” –Lee Because genealogists are researching family history, the information discovered is personal. When conducting research for a customer, negative information may be uncovered and the employee must decide how to handle sharing this information.

Staff Live Oak Public Library employees who work in the Kaye Kole Genealogy and Local History Room are either Librarians or Library Associates. Education: Minimum requirement is a bachelor’s degree. Training: There is no special training required in genealogy research.

Advice Do as much work as possible on your own family genealogy for practice. Keep a wish list of books and resources you would like added to the collection. Consider what is the most user friendly method of organizing the collection. When examining a document, really look at every part of the document because there can be interesting hints buried within them.