Transylvania County Library:
As the library profession continues to grow and adapt to new technologies and
media, assisting with reference questions continues as one of the primary functions of our
library. As time allows, the Transylvania County Library is happy to
provide this service to family researchers.
A few guidelines:
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The Library has to own the book. You can search the catalogue on-line
on the library web page. Please include the book name, author and call number with your
question.
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Reference questions are good for looking up one or two
people. If your research would benefit from access to the entire
book, many books are available through inter-library loan. Check
with your local library for specific guidelines and to request a
book. Again, providing the title, author, call number, and the
library where the book is located will help. Please understand that
some reference materials are not available through inter-library loan.
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If you request a document such as an obituary, provide as much
information as possible, especially the name and date of
death. Requesting an obituary for John Doe who died in Rosman March
13, 1925 is an excellent reference question – especially since many individuals did not
have an official obituary, but were mentioned in their specific community
column. Asking for an obituary for John Doe without any additional
information is a research question that would require hours of searching un-indexed
newspaper microfilm. Limited library staff simply cannot fill
research requests.
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For newspaper reference questions, please keep in mind that there are
many gaps in the Transylvania County newspaper collection. Also,
many copies of newspapers that do remain have sections damaged or cut
out.
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The Library will provide photocopies of information at
cost. But if you find this service helpful, please remember that
library finding is particularly limited these days and add a little extra.
The Library maintains a
collection of genealogical reference materials and family histories as well as newspapers, census
records, and additional primary documents available. This includes either microfilm or paper
copies of the Transylvania Times from 1986 to present. The local paper microfilm covers various
papers and from as early as 1893, but continuous coverage (mostly - there are just a few gaps) from
1908 through March of 1960. Then it picks up again in March of 1968 to present. Census microfilm is
1800 to 1920 for this area. A printed copy of the 1790 census is in reference. There are some
microfilm of court records, land records, elections, churches, and deeds and marriages relating to
the area.
To visit the Transylvania County Library, go
to https://library.transylvaniacounty.org
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