From: lisap@olomana.soest.hawaii.edu (Lisa Petersen)
Subject: Tips on doing research in Washington, DC
Originator: lisap@olomana
Organization: School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 03:11:39 GMT

Greetings!  I was just in Washington, DC, in late September and
thought I'd share some of what I learned about the resources there.
You also might want to check the ftp site for a piece on the National
Archives and DAR Library written in April 1991 by Brian Clarridge.
Hope you have a great trip!

Lisa Petersen

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  ***  DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (DAR) LIBRARY  ***

ADDRESS: 1776 D street, N.W., Washington, D.C.  20006-5392

PHONE:  202 628 1776

LOCATION:  Southwest of the White House in Memorial Continental
Hall between C & D streets and 17th & 18th streets.  Enter on
D Street.

METRO:  Nearest Metro stop is Farragut West, then walk .5 mile
south to D Street (or take taxi).

ENTERING:  Sign in upon entering the building and obtain a clip-on
visitor pass.  In the library, non-members pay $5 per day or $3
for half-day.  No x-ray search, and they didn't inspect my bag
when I left.

HOURS:  Monday-Friday 8:45 am to 4 pm, Sunday 1-5 pm (except on
holiday weekends.  Closed on federal holidays.

COPIES:  20 cents per page.

RESEARCH: With one of the largest genealogical collections in the
country, the DAR Library has over 85,000 volumes and thousands of
files on Revolutionary War veterans.  Main attractions include
state and local histories, Revolutionary War histories, 20,000
family genealogies, complete collection of Genealogical Records
Committee Reports, documentation files in support of DAR
membership applications, city directories, general reference books,
miscellaneous manuscripts and microfilms, and card indexes to help
locate hidden genealogical information.  You can easily browse 
through the state and local histories as they are on open shelves 
in alphabetical order.  If you have to use any indexes (census,
muster rolls, etc.) I highly recommend you use them here rather
than at the Archives or LOC.  If you have any Revolutionary War
veterans in your pedigree, be sure to ask the staff to pull the
documentation files for each soldier.  You may not get much, but
it only takes a few minutes.  Beware that some materials in this
collection are only available here, so don't leave early thinking
you're going to get it at the LOC.  The staff are quite
knowledgeable and willing to help.




              ***  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS  ***

ADDRESS:  Local History & Genealogy Reading Room, Washington, DC
20540

PHONE:  202 707 5537

LOCATION:  In the Thomas Jefferson Building east-southeast of the
Capitol between 1st and 2nd streets, Independence Avenue and East
Capitol Street.  Enter through the back entrance on 2nd Street
until construction in front is completed.

METRO:  Nearest Metro stop is Capitol South, then walk .3 mile
north to the back entrance on 2nd Street.

ENTERING:  Go through security guard station where bags are
visually inspected, then follow the signs to room LJ G20.  Your
bags will be inspected on the way out.

HOURS:  Monday-Friday 8:30 am to 9:30 pm, Saturday 8:30 am to 5 pm,
Sunday 1-5 pm.  Closed on major holidays, call for hours on other
holidays.

COPIES:  15 cents per page if you pay with coins, 10 cents per
page if you pay with magnetic card.

RESEARCH:  The Local History and Genealogy Reading Room is only
for US research.  For foreign histories and genealogy, go to the
main part of the Thomas Jefferson building and use the card
catalog there.  In the LH&G Reading Room you will find about 10,000
indexes, guides and reference books, card and computer catalogs to
the holdings, a couple PC's with PAF/Ancestral File, and some helpful
librarians.  You will need lots of time and patience at the LOC
because the books are in closed stacks and you have to fill out a
call slip (with your name & address, book title, author and call
number) for each book and wait and wait and wait.  The estimated
waiting time when I was there was 50 minutes which seemed like an
eternity.  There are separate card catalogs for surnames and local
histories.  Ask the librarian to explain the cataloging system and
introduce you to the facilities to help save some time (and sanity).
The card catalog lists holdings catalogued up until 1980, and the
computer catalog includes those catalogued since 1968 (so there is
some overlap).  None of the 3 books I wanted were either in the card
catalog or on the computer, and the librarian told me they don't
have everything!  I didn't get my books, but I didn't have to wait
50 minutes, either!



             ***  NATIONAL ARCHIVES  ***

ADDRESS:  7th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408

PHONE:  202 501 5340

LOCATION:  between 7th and 9th streets, Pennsylvania and
Constitution avenues.  For genealogy research, enter on the
Pennsylvania Avenue (north) side.  Museum entrance is on the
south side.

METRO:  nearest metro stop is Archives, located across the street
from the northeast corner of the Archives (you could've guessed).

ENTERING:  Show ID upon entering the building and tell the guard
you are there for genealogy research.  Send your bags through
x-ray machine (like at the airport).  They will ask you if you
have any original documents (birth certificates, etc.) and if you
know where you're going.  Take the elevator to the 4th floor and
turn left.  You will be assigned a microfilm reader at the door
unless 1) there are none available in which case you will have to
wait, or 2) there are a lot available (during the slow times).
Your bags will be visually inspected when you leave, and if you
leave after 6 pm, you will have to sign out at the guard's desk.

HOURS:  Monday-Friday 8:45 am to 9:45 pm.  Saturday 8:45 am to
5 pm.  Saturdays are busiest, and 12-3 pm on weekdays is also
popular.  If you arrive when they first open up, you may have to
give up your reader if there are people in the lobby waiting (often
around noon).  I recommend arriving at about 10 or 10:30 if you want
to get most of a day's research in.

COPIES:  Photocopies from books cost 10 cents per page, and copies
of microfilm cost 25 cents.  None of the machines take coins;  you
have to get a magnetic card from a dispensing machine for $1.  You
can add more money to the card using the dispensing machine, and
when you leave you can get a refund for the left-over amount from
the cashier's office (Mon-Fri til 5 pm).

RESEARCH:  All Federal census records from 1790-1920 and soundex
for 1880-1920, passenger lists and military records are the main
highlights.  The Archives has some census index books (in poor
condition), passenger list books including "Germans to America,"
military muster rolls for some states, other misc. books and maps.
The main room (Room 400) had about 100 microfilm readers and all
the census, soundex and Revolutionary War records in help-yourself
cabinets (one roll at a time, rewind when you're done).  The 1920
census & soundex boxes are so nicely labeled with state/country/ED#
or begin/end soundex code that you won't have to look up any reel 
numbers in a book, but that's not the case for the other censuses
(guidebooks for them are right next to the film cabinets).  Passenger
lists and indexes for Atlantic ports (such as New York, Baltimore,
Boston, etc.) and Gulf ports are nicely labeled and located in the
room off the back of the main room.  There you can also find District
of Columbia city directories and records of various government
agencies.  Other obscure films in the main room include captured
German World War II military records (in German) and some state
censuses and tax lists.  You may request military service and
pension records Monday-Friday until 4 pm by filling out a form with
name of soldier, rank, branch of service, unit, etc.  (You can also
get these by mail, but it will cost you $10.)  Be sure to request
records for your ancestors that served in the Civil War -- the
pension files often contain good genealogical information.  For
Revolutionary War soldiers, check the microfilms in Room 400 first --
you may get all there is to get right off the microfilm.  The
Archives staff are friendly and very good at helping beginners,
but not as good with more difficult problems (try the DAR library
instead).



         ***  NATIONAL GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY  ***

ADDRESS:  4527 Seventeenth Street N., Arlington, VA  22207-2399

PHONE:  703 525 0050

LOCATION:  Near the center of Arlington, north of Highway 66 and
east of Glebe Road, northwest of the Ballston Metro station.  
Library is in small building (about the size of a one-car garage) 
behind the main house where NGS offices are.

METRO:  nearest Metro stop is Ballston, then walk .5 mile north
mostly and west a little (I recommend Utah Street).

ENTERING:  Sign in when you arrive.  Non-members pay $5 per visit.

HOURS:  Monday & Wednesday 10 am to 9 pm.  Friday & Saturday
10 am to 4 pm.

COPIES:  They do have copy machines, but I'm not sure of the price.

RESEARCH:  The library has about 15,000 volumes, with general
reference books on the main floor, family genealogies downstairs
and local history books upstairs.  They have a card catalog that
indexes surnames and places as well as authors & titles.  I suppose
there's a chance you might find something unique here, but I don't
recommend making the trip to Arlington unless you've exhausted all
the other libraries and still have time leftover.  If you arrive
before the library opens, you can visit the main offices in the
house (I went upstairs to the education department to ask about
the home study course).  There is no bookstore :-(.  


Lisa Petersen   11 October 1992
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