Doing Research at the Library of Michigan

Although it has been a while since I have done research at the Library of Michigan, I thought I would write a post about my experiences since Jasia and Randy briefly blogged about the library.

Both the Library of Michigan and the State Archives of Michigan are in the same building, but are on different sides of the building. Again, I will only be posting in this post on the library.

The library is on the left side (walking into the building) of the building and is on the second floor. After taking the elevator up to the second floor, one will notice that the floor is divided between two sides of bookshelves and in the center, a row of tables. On the side of the floor that has the elevator, there is an area where one can access the internet and genealogy databases from a computer. Near the computer work-stations is the librarian's reference desk. Past the reference desk is the microfilm room where one can view censuses and vital records. The other side of the floor also has a microfilm room, but that room holds the microfilms of newspapers. (I have only gone into the newspaper room once, so I am not as familiar with what newspapers are on microfilm.)

The microfilm room near the reference desk holds, among other records, vital records and censuses. The library holds these vital records:

• Marriages - 1867 (or 1868 for some counties) to 1925. I forget the exact year, but I believe after 1921, the marriages are not indexed.
• Births - Supposedly from 1867 to 1915. (I have only seen indexes for a few years, and I haven't found any actual images for the early births.
• Deaths - 1867 to 1920. After 1915, the deaths are not indexed. Please note that Detroit deaths (and births) are kept on separate films from the rest of Wayne County.
• Censuses - Federal and state. (Most of the state censuses are from the years 1885 and 1895.) You will only be able to view the population schedules for the federal censuses. If you want to view the other schedules of those censuses, you will have to go to the State Archives.

In addition to records on microfilm, the library also has information on Michigan and other states, and has city directories for Michigan cities.

Again, I must state that I am relying on my memory for this post. I could be wrong. To check for more up-to-date information, click here to go to the library's website.