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February Meet-up Recap - Our Tour of Archives & Library on February 10, 2025

by Barbara McGeachy, President, Wake County Genealogical Society

About 30 people, members of the Wake County Genealogical Society and interested parties, toured the NC Archives and Government & Heritage Library in downtown Raleigh. After the tour, about a dozen of us walked to lunch next door in the legislature building. 

Our tour guides Doug Brown, Reference Unit Supervisor in the Archives, and Taylor Wolford, Outreach Librarian in the Government & Heritage Library, were ready for us with interesting documents. In the archives, we saw the original Sanborn maps of Raleigh, the will of John Rex whose bequest founded Rex Hospital in 1894 (still thriving in Raleigh today) and other documents. In the library, Taylor shared newsletters and meeting minutes of the Wake County Genealogical Society! We toured behind the scenes, going into the storage vaults and the rare book room of the library.

Taylor shared this information about the library:

  • All NC residents are eligible to get a free library card. With the card, you can check out books and access many databases from home. To register for a library card, use this link.

  • Here is the link to access the SLNC online databases  mentioned on the tour.

  • Here is the link for more information about the Book-A-Librarian program (free 30-minute one-on-one consultation, available over the phone or in person to anyone).

  • Any inquiries regarding donating materials to the GHL can be forwarded to this email address: slnc.acquisitions@dncr.nc.gov. This page on the SLNC website has more information about the types of materials we are interested in collecting and the donation process.

Enjoy these photos from our tour of the Archives and State Library provided  by George Thomas.



Clockwise from top left:                 

                   
A drawer in the vertical files in the library - chock full of items donated by people. These files are not on-line due to copyright restrictions so you’ll need to plan an in-person visit!

Doug Brown describes sample documents in the archives search room. The large Sanborn map of Raleigh is in the foreground.

Behind the scenes, Doug Brown shares the archives storage vault. Most visitors never see this area!

Behind-the-scenes: the rare book room in the library stacks. Some people reported seeing a ghost here but not with so many people on a tour!

Thanks to Barbara and George for capturing the day.

 


Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - 

Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Publications | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Society Surnames | Digital Resources | History Resources | More Links and Resources | Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org



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