There are some very special collections of material housed in the many libraries across the world. The trouble is - which libraries hold material that is likely to be of interest and use to the family historian or genealogist. Truth be told, the more famous one's ancestors are, the more likely there will be material held in the larger collecting institutions, but it is important to check your local libraries for possible family history connections.

And then there are the the libraries of the places visited by our ancestors.

I heard an interesting piece the other day. A diary written by a monk, was taken home (after he left the order) the diary was passed through the family until one day the diary was listed for sale in a literary catalogue. The diary was sold again, and this time the diary was bought by a collector from another country. He recognised the names, the places mentioned and donated the item back to the monastery where the monk had spent several years of his life, and from the time of the writing. Whilst your family history may not contain diaries worthy of being listed on a literary catalogue, imagine the richness of the words from people who have been through the wars or other major events. We get to see history from a very personal perspective.

You can never control where your documents and records will end up, so be prepared to keep on looking.

BSU’s Bracken Library houses hidden treasures | thestarpress.com | The Star Press

World War II historical films as well as the Joseph Fisher World War II scrapbook, put together by his mother and containing letters home, newspaper clippings, and other artifacts.

Another collection that's being digitized is the Middletown Women's History Collection of correspondence, diaries, photographs, and minute books of women's organizations. This collection should be online in June, according to Straw.