New Database: Ancestry Library

It just got much easier to do genealogical research at the Bentley Library! We are pleased to offer Ancestry® Library to the Bentley community. Discover your unique family history using the billions of historical documents available in this popular database.

Ancestry® Library is powered by Ancestry.com® and delivered by ProQuest. Ancestry® Library provides access to most of the content available to individual Ancestry.com® subscribers.  Some of the personalization options available to private subscribers are not available in the Library edition.

Inside Ancestry® Library

Content for Ancestry® Library is sourced from libraries, archives and special collections all over the world.  The database contains billions of records in censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, court and legal documents, directories, family and gravestone photos, and more.  Also included are an extensive collection of military records, and multimedia such as newsreels and maps.

Louis A. Caulfield, 37 Belfort Street, Dorchester delivers a typewriter for Model Typewriter Inspection Co.  Taken on Boston Common / Lewis W. Hine / abt 1917. From: Ancestry.com. Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000 .

Historical Records

• Birth, Marriage, & Death
• Census & Voter Lists
• Immigration & Travel
• Military
• Schools, Directories, & Church Histories
• Tax, Criminal, Land, & Wills
• Reference, Dictionaries, & Almanacs

Stories & Publications

• Stories, Memories, & Histories
• Newspapers
• Periodicals & Magazines

Photos & Maps

• Photos
• Maps, Atlases, & Gazetteers

Learn More and Get Help

ProQuest has created a detailed online guide to the Ancestry® Library database. Learn about the various content categories contained within the database, get search tips, watch prerecorded webinars, view sample searches and print help guides  at https://proquest.libguides.com/ancestrylibraryedition. Also available are a series of short training videos, including the "Basic Search" video shown below. The entire ProQuest Ancestry® Library YouTube Playlist is available at http://prq.st/ancestrylevideos.

Connect to Ancestry® Library

Ancestry® Library is available on the library's Databases A-Z list and the History databases page. For further assistance using this database, please contact the Reference Desk.

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please Ask a Librarian. If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.