Newspapers & Genealogy Resources
Your Webster Parish Libraries recognize the importance of preserving history. This history is important because it connects us to specific times, places and events that were significant milestones in our collective past. The ability to revisit these preserved elements from time to time provides us with a sense of place, and maintains continuity between our past and our present by preserving a trail of how we arrived at where, and who we are today.
Your libraries are affiliate libraries of FamilySearch.
What does this mean?
A major benefit of being an affiliate library is access to additional digital records not available outside a family history center or an affiliate library. These digital records include images and names indexes. Currently, there are about 400 million original records available in a digital format that affiliate libraries have access to. FamilySearch can be accessed by clicking here. To access affiliate library restricted documents. you must do so from within one of your seven local library branches.
The Louisiana Digital Library is an online library containing photographs, maps, manuscripts, books, oral histories and other materials that document history and culture. Your Webster Parish Libraries contributes to the LDL photographs and documents specifically pertaining to Webster Parish.
Newspapers.com Library Edition is an extensive database that provides online access to 4,000+ historical newspapers. Dating from the early 1700s into the 2000s, Newspapers.com Library Edition contains full runs and portions of runs of well-known, regional and state titles to small local newspapers in the United States and other countries.
Your WPL Digital Newspaper Collection features thousands of newspapers from local publications dating back to 1897. The newspapers are searchable making it easy to find exactly what you're looking for!
Fold3 Library Edition provides convenient access to U.S. military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. Original records at Fold3 help you discover and share stories about these everyday heroes, forgotten soldiers, and the families that supported them.
Ancestry® Library Edition, distributed exclusively by ProQuest and powered by Ancestry.com, delivers billions of records in census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more. Ancestry Library Edition brings the world's most popular consumer online genealogy resource to your library.
HeritageQuest® Online is a comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids. The database provides genealogical and historical sources for more than 60 countries, with coverage dating back as early as the 1700s.
Interested in preserving your family history?
We can help. Our Historical Archivist frequently conducts oral history interviews for preservation. Don't throw away those old letters and photographs! Let us scan them into the digital archive and help you preserve your story.
Preserving Webster Parish History
Your libraries have genealogy groups located in both the northern and southern parts of the parish that meet monthly. To learn more about when and where the next meeting will be, find events here or join the WPL Genealogy Group Facebook Page.