Foundation Center Online Grant Resources

Senior Librarian Michael Meyer will demonstrate two online products from the Foundation Center that are available at the New York State Library. The Foundation Directory Online provides accurate details on over 100,000 US foundations and corporate donors and over 2.2 million recent grants. Foundation Grants to Individuals Online is an online database of over 8,500 foundation and public charity programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grant seekers.  Space is limited and registration is required.

Location: New York State Library, 7th floor Computer Classroom

Historical Newspapers Online at the New York State Library

Newspapers can serve as useful primary sources for historical research. They reflect the time period in which they were created and provide a glimpse into society at the time. Senior Librarian Stephanie Barrett will discuss online databases available at the New York State Library that contain full-text historical newspapers. She will demonstrate the effective use of America's Historical Newspapers and the Historical Newspapers (New York Times) with an emphasis on newspapers published in New York State. She will also demonstrate how to find and access New York State digital newspapers freely available on the Internet.

Space is limited and registration is required.

Location: New York State Library, 7th floor Computer Classroom

New York Chancery Court Records: Breaking through Genealogical "Brick Walls" in Early New York

Genealogists are familiar with probate court records. Pre-1847 Chancery Court records in the State Archives may provide additional information about the lives of obscure ancestors, including guardianships, divorces, and mortgage foreclosures. The records include the extensive Chancery records formerly in New York City, transferred to the Archives in 2017.

The presenter, Jim Folts, is the Head of Researcher Services, New York State Archives and has special expertise in court, land, and canal records. He will provide an overview of Chancery Court records and discuss access strategies for finding case files and minute book entries that relate to people in early New York.

Seating is limited and registration is recommended.

Location: Cultural Education Center, Librarians Room (7th Floor)

Walking Tour of the Local History and Genealogy Resources at the New York State Library

The New York State Library is a treasure chest of resources for those tracing their family histories. Join us for a tour highlighting published genealogies, local histories, church records, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) records, United States and New York State Census records, newspapers on microfilm, city directories and more. The subject specialist for genealogy and local history at the New York State Library will lead the tour.

The tour is limited to 15 individuals and registration is required.

Location: New York State Library 7th floor – meet in front of Genealogy/Local History/Equipment desk

Genealogy Online with FamilySearch

The NYS Library and the NYS Archives have partnered to become a FamilySearch Affiliate Library. FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have onsite access to digital microfilm data that is not available to researchers using FamilySearch resources from their home computer. Senior Librarian Stephanie Barrett will demonstrate how to access genealogical records and family trees included in this database. She will also demonstrate how to print and save records.

Seating is limited and registration is required.

Location: New York State Library, 7th floor Computer Classroom

Foundation Center Online Grant Resources

Senior Librarian Michael Meyer will demonstrate two online products from the Foundation Center that are available at the New York State Library. The Foundation Directory Online provides accurate details on over 100,000 US foundations and corporate donors and over 2.2 million recent grants. Foundation Grants to Individuals Online is an online database of over 8,500 foundation and public charity programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grant seekers.  Space is limited and registration is required.

Location: New York State Library, 7th floor Computer Classroom

Cradle of the Union: Albany History Uncovered

Please join us as author Erik Schlimmer takes us on a virtual tour of Albany street names, weaving among war heroes, criminals, founding fathers, and Dutch settlers.  Within Albany's city limits there are 785 streets, and author Erik Schlimmer figured it was time to historically decode every single street name. During his four-year-long research project he examined nearly 1,000 print and online sources and interviewed historians, residents, and fellow researchers.

Erik has been an adventurer for decades and is the the author of Thru Hiker's Guide to America (2010), Blue Line to Blue Line (2013), History Inside the Blue Line (2014), My Adirondacks (2015), Among the Cloud Splitters (2016), and Cradle of the Union (2019). He's also written for The Trek, Mountain Biking Magazine, National Geographic Explorer, Canoe and Kayak and other publications.

Registration is required.

Location: Cultural Education Center, Librarians Room (7th Floor)

Genealogy Online with Ancestry Library edition

Senior Librarian Stephanie Barrett will demonstrate the Ancestry Library online database which is accessible at the New York State Library. Learn how to access Census records, genealogy and history book, maps and other resources included in this database, as well as, the resources on Ancestry NYS page which are freely available to all New Yorkers. Stephanie will also demonstrate search tips and strategies, how to save records, printing and how to create a family tree via Ancestry.

Seating is limited and registration is required.

Location: New York State Library, 7th floor Computer Classroom