What Is It?
Ancestry Library Edition is a powerful genealogy database for researching your family history. It is free for visitors at any of our three locations. Ancestry is a great tool for building a family tree, checking dates and records or looking for clues about relatives.
Save Money While You Research
“A paid membership can cost an individual hundreds of dollars and the price goes up even more if you want records outside the United States,” said Director Donna Meeks. “We are happy to provide this to the public on the library’s dime. It’s unfortunate that our subscription doesn’t allow our patrons access from home, but that’s an Ancestry’s decision … we will keep asking them to consider changing that call.”
What’s Included
Ancestry Library Edition includes many types of records for piecing together your story.
- Census records and other population lists
- Birth, marriage, and death records
- Military records
- Immigration and travel records
- City directories and other local resources
Also included are records beyond the U.S. with strong coverage in Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, and select collections from Mexico, China, Eastern Europe/Russia and others.
You may find family connections you did not know existed. One record can spark hundreds of leads with new names, unexpected locations and surprising time periods.
How To Use Ancestry Library Edition
Ancestry Library Edition is available only onsite.
- Visit any MPHPL location during open hours.
- Connect to our library’s Wi-Fi with a public computer, your laptop or smart device.
- Find the Ancestry Library Edition link on our Online Resources webpage.
- Search by name, location or a known date.
No purchase is needed, and you do not need special software.
Tips for Better Results
Genealogy searches can be approached in more than one way. These tips may help.
- Less is more … start with fewer details (just the full name)
- No luck? Try different spellings of the name.
- Use a year range if you are not sure of the exact year.
- Still can’t find them? Search for a close relative and then work backward.
- Save notes as you go, so you can track what you learned.
Need Help? We’ve Got Your Back
If you get stuck, ask a staff member for assistance. We are always happy to help. For more support, consider making an appointment through our Tech Assistance service.
Start your search today—visit MPHPL to explore Ancestry Library Edition for free.