PERSI - the PERiodical Source Index

What if someone has written about your ancestor? How do you find it? There are thousands of genealogy publications. A search through all of them would be close to impossible without PERSI - the PERiodical Source Index.

PERSI is a huge index of genealogy and local history articles (32 volumes at last counting) put together by the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. If you are in Allen County, you are in luck. You can access PERSI from their public library system. The index can also be found at large genealogy and public libraries. However, the size of the index has made the cost prohibitive for most libraries.

But, there are other ways that you can access PERSI. Some libraries and most Family History Centers have it on microfiche. Also, it is now on CD. You can own your own copy. It can be ordered at Ancestry.com. At $99, the cost is a bit high for me. If you are member of Ancestry.com, you can access it online. That suits my budget better. A three month membership is only $19.95.

Once you have found an article that you would like a copy of, the next problem is how to get it. First, check with your library. They may be able to do an interloan. If not, you might be able to get it directly from the publisher. Publist.com has a search feature that can help you track down the publisher's address. Finally, you can order a copy of the article from the Allen County Public Library > Genealogy Department.

Obtaining the article may be well worth the work. As a genealogical source it is secondary, but the clues you get can be invaluable.

For further reading on PERSI:

Pursuing Periodicals with Persi, George G. Morgan

PERiodical Source Index on Microfiche (PERSI), Family History Source Guide

Perusing the PERiodical Source Index, by Gay E. Carter

Go To Page: 1

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic