District of Columbia Archives and Libraries

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services helpful for genealogical research for the District of Columbia.

National Archives Pennsylvania Avenue at 8th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20408 Telephone: 202-501-5415 Fax: 301-713-6740 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/

Columbia Historical Society 333 Constitution Avenue, NW Room 4826 Washington, DC 20001-2866 Telephone: 202-785-2068 Fax: 202-887-5785 Internet: http://www.dcchs.org/

District of Columbia Public Library Information and Reference 901 "G" Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001-4599 Telephone: 202-727-0321 Fax: 202-707-1129 Internet: http://dclibrary.org/

Library of Congress General Reference and Bibliography Division 101 Independence Avenue at First Street, S.E. Washington, DC 20504 Telephone: 202-707-5000 Fax: 202-707-5844 Internet: http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Maryland State Archives 350 Rowe Boulevard Annapolis, MD 21401 Telephone: 410-260-6400 Toll free: 1-800-235-4045 Fax: 410-974-3895 Internet: http://www.msa.md.gov/

Guides to specific research collections are:


 * Benton, Mildred, ed. Library and Reference Facilities in the Area of the District of Columbia. 12th edition. American Society for Information Science, 1986. (FHL book 975.3 J5j.)
 * Provine, Dorothy S. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Government of the District of Columbia. Record Group 351. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1976. (FHL book 975.3 A1 No. 8.)

The Internet and Message Boards
The internet is an important tool for obtaining information. The internet itself can serve as a library. Through the internet family history researchers can:


 * Locate other researchers
 * Post queries
 * Send and receive e-mail
 * Search large databases
 * Search computer libraries
 * Join in computer chat and lecture sessions

You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from the District of Columbia in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost.

Addresses on the Internet change frequently. As of December 2007, the following sites are important gateways linking you to many more network and message board sites:

USGenWeb

 * http://www.usgenweb.com/

A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county, state, and country.

Roots-L

 * http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/usa/

A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly-updated research coordination list.

For further details about using computer networks, bulletin boards, and news groups for family history research, see the United States Research Topics, "Archives and Libraries" section.

FamilySearch™

 * www.familysearch.org

The Family History Library and some Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch™. FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing several million names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; some have been automated from original sources.