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Research your family history with our new Back to Your Roots Genealogy Club at our Mentor-on-the-Lake Branch.

Our Back to Your Roots Genealogy Club is back, and it’s open to anyone who’s curious about their family history.

We’ll be meeting in person at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at our newly renovated Lake Branch. You can share tips on researching your genealogy, exchange information, and talk shop. All levels of genealogy expertise are welcome.

You can RSVP on our website or by calling us at (440) 257-2512.

By the way, did you know that your library card gives you access to not one, not two, not three, but four different genealogy websites? For free.

They are:

1. Ancestry — Search for your family’s history through censuses, cemeteries, city directories, military and immigration records, and more public records.
2. Fold3 — Fold3 allows you to research your family’s military history going back to the Revolutionary War.
3. HeritageQuest — Similar to our Ancestry database. Browse public records, including censuses that go back to the 18th Century, US Indian census rolls, mortality schedules and more.
4. African-American Heritage — A genealogy database that specializes in African-American heritage, complete with state-by-state guides and a volunteer-staffed forum.

You don’t need to know much to get started on our databases—a name, somewhere that person lived and it helps to know his or her approximate birth year. And, frankly, if you don’t know your great-grandfather or great-great-mother’s birth year, it usually only takes a single search to find out.

These databases search through millions of public records: census and immigration information, birth/marriage/death certificates, and more. Not only can you view these documents, but you can email them to yourself and your family members.

Give them a look, and share what you find at our Back to Your Roots Genealogy Club!