Tracking Down Particular Authors

In your research, you often come across an author who wrote something of particular interest to you. Perhaps you want to know what else this author wrote. How do you do this? Some authors have an interest in your county or state, and there may be an undiscovered book out there waiting for your exploration! I have my own short-cut methods.

My first effort is to look at the Family History Library Catalog: www.familysearch.org which has an author search. My logic behind this one is the FHL is the largest genealogical library in the world. So there is a good chance they have current and out-of-print books in their collection by this author.

If this doesn’t work, then search national libraries for authors of interest. However, you may still not find what you are looking for at a national library. If you need a composite catalog to search multiple libraries at the same time, then would need WorldCat: www.worldcat.org which will connect you to 10,000 and 1.5 billion items worldwide. Your local public library may have access to WorldCat.

If you know a particular author is localized in scope, then a copy may not be on deposit at any major library. In this case, always contact the local public library in the area that the books pertain. I find that books are usually on deposit in the area they were written about due to local interest. Websites detailing public libraries are available. If you have trouble finding what you need simply Google “[city or town] Public Library.” Something will come up.

Speaking of Google or some other search engine; don’t hesitate to type in the author’s name. You might be surprised what you come find!