FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
- Can you research my family history for me?
- What are your hours?
- Can books and other materials from the Southern History Department be checked out?
- Where can I obtain copies of Alabama birth, death, and marriage records?
- What are your U.S. Census holdings?
- Do you have copies of ships passenger lists?
- Is it possible to research an ancestor's U.S. military service in the Southern History Department?
- Do you have city directories?
- Can you search for obituaries which may have appeared in Birmingham newspapers?
- Are any materials from the Southern History Department available online?
- Can copies be made from Southern History's books, periodicals, and microfilm?
- Do you have photographs of Birmingham, AL?
- What history or genealogy databases are available at the Library?
- Why are your call numbers different from the ones used in the rest of the library?
Can you research my family history for me?
The staff of the Southern History Department cannot undertake genealogical
research for patrons. We will be happy to suggest sources and research
strategies.
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What are your hours?
The Southern History Department is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. by appointment only. A complete list of the Library's hours and locations is available.
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Can books and other materials from the Southern History Department be checked out?
All of the materials in the Southern History Department are for reference use only and must be used in the Library. They cannot be checked out or loaned via inter-library loan.
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Where can I obtain copies of Alabama birth, death, and marriage records?
The Southern History Department has the following indexes to Alabama vital records:
Copies of Alabama vital records can be obtained from any county health department in Alabama or from the Alabama Department of Public Health.
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What are your U.S. Census holdings?
The Southern History Department has microfilm copies of the U.S. Census of
Population schedules, 1790-1930 for selected states. Our holdings vary
according to census year but are complete for Alabama. We also have a
subscription to the library edition of ancestry.com which includes access
to digitized images of the Census, with linked name indexes. Access to
ancestry.com is freely available to patrons who visit any location of the
Birmingham Public Library. The 1940 and 1950 census records are exclusively available online at Ancestry.com, Archives.gov, and FamilySearch.org.
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Do you have copies of ships passenger lists?
The Southern History Department has copies of passenger
lists and indexes in books, as well as microfilm copies of lists and indexes
held by the National Archives. We regret that our small staff cannot
search these records for you.
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Is it possible to research an ancestor's U.S. military service in the Southern History Department?
The Library has a large collection of items relating to military service in
the United States. We have Revolutionary War service records and pension
applications. We have indexes to service records and pension applications for
the War of 1812. We have numerous Civil War unit and regimental histories as
well as service records for Confederate units in Alabama and Alabama Confederate
pension applications. We also have access to Fold3.com, the premier database for researching U.S. Military records.
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Do you have city directories?
The Southern History Department has an excellent collection of
Birmingham city directories beginning in 1883. We also have directories
for select years for other Alabama cities available on microfilm.
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Can you search for obituaries which may have appeared in Birmingham newspapers?
The Library has an extensive collection of Birmingham newspapers on
microfilm. With the proper information, we are often able to locate obituaries
which ran in the local newspaper. A good place to start is with our
obituary index which includes several Birmingham area newspapers.
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Are any materials from the Southern History Department available online?
Although all of the books and periodicals in the Southern History Department are listed in our
online catalog, you must come to the Library to use them.
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Can copies be made from Southern History's books, periodicals, and microfilm
Yes, depending on the age and physical condition of the original. Two self-service photocopiers and an overhead book scanner are available to researchers in the Southern History Department. Microfilm readers and scanner/printers are also available in the Southern History Department. Bring a flash drive if you want to save scanned pages. Copies can be ordered through the mail or by e-mail. Please see our
guidelines for more
information on ordering copies.
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Do you have photographs of Birmingham, AL?
The Library's Archives and Manuscripts Department houses a large collection of Birmingham images and
photographs. For more information on this collection, please contact the Archives Department.
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What history or genealogy databases are available at the Library?
The Library maintains subscriptions to several databases that are of interest to genealogists and
historians. Please see the Library's list of databases and subscriptions for information about accessing these and other databases.
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Why are your call numbers different from the ones used in the rest of the library?
The books in the Southern History Department are cataloged using the Library of Congress Classification System. While most public libraries use the Dewey Decimal System, the Library of Congress (LC, for short) Classification is better for a
large, very specific collection such as ours. For more information on this system, an outline is available from the Library of Congress.
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