Genealogy Databases
Ancestry.com Library Edition
In-library use only. Search census, military, vital church, court, land and immigration records from many parts of the world.
Scotch Plains Public Library is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library. At SPPL, you can access over 400 million digitized records, including name indexes and images, that cannot be viewed from home.
Books and Magazines
Scotch Plains and other STELLA libraries have many books geared to beginning and advanced genealogy researchers. Place a hold for delivery!
Family Tree magazine is available for reading and download to your own device through the Libby app or the eLibraryNJ website. Topics include resource guides for specific ethnicities, technology how-to articles, history, and genealogy news.
You can also request books and articles through our interlibrary loan service.
Genealogy Program Recordings
Librarian April Earle has shared her expertise on genealogical research in these recorded presentations for the Library.
- Genealogy 101 offers her best tips for staying organized and searching databases like Ancestry and FamilySearch. In addition to dismissing some of the most common myths about genealogy research, she looks at the significance of census records, the importance of seeing the actual document, and uncovering the secrets in plain sight on passenger lists.
- Celebrating the 1950 Census covers how to use these valuable records, first made public in 2022.
- Replacing Victor’s Headstone shares April’s story of replacing her 3rd great grandfather Victor’s headstone, covering navigating cemeteries, discovering long lost descendants, leveraging social media, and the multitude of obstacles encountered during this project.
The New Jersey State Library also hosts a large collection of genealogy webinars (click to expand the ‘Research Methods: Genealogy and Local History’ box.
