Before you head over to the web site, there are a few things you need to know.
Getting an Omaha Public Library card
These records are available only if you have a library card from the Omaha Public Library. Don't have one? If you're in Douglas county, visit any branch of the Omaha Public Library and bring a photo ID and address verification.
If you have a valid library card through the Lincoln City Libraries or the Council Bluffs Public Library, you are entitled to reciprocal privileges with the Omaha Public Library. And vice versa! Your Omaha Public Library card will give you access to Lincoln City Libraries.
Live in another state and feel left out? You may purchase a non-resident membership by calling 402-444-4874. All of the details may be found on the Omaha Public Library web site.
Following my talk on newspaper research for genealogy last Saturday, I could hardly wait to get my Omaha library card. It was very easy. I presented my card from the Lincoln City Libraries, filled out a form, showed my photo ID and within minutes there was an Omaha Public Library bar code label affixed to my Lincoln card. Within a couple days, I received confirmation that my Omaha card was verified with the Lincoln library. Easy!
Going Online and Searching
I'm sure it's not surprising to learn that I spent most of last Sunday searching the database, beginning with key dates of deaths, births and marriages. The images use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning, so sometimes you have to use spelling variations or truncated words to find what you are looking for. But in less than half an hour, I had dozens of hits on much of my eastern Nebraska kin.
You can narrow your search by your own selected time frame or chose from U.S. Presidential Eras or Eras in American History. You can go directly to a specific date and browse the pages for that date. You can specify that your results show best matches first, chronological order or reverse chronological order. You can also add search terms in addition to a name you are searching. This is definitely one of the easiest and most intuitive newspaper searches available online.
Provided by Newsbank, Inc.
The Omaha World Herald collection is provided via an arrangement with Newsbank, a leading provider of newspaper images online. Genealogybank.com is a division of Newsbank and offers many of the same images.
Keep in mind that the Omaha World Herald images are available via the Omaha Public Library on a trial basis. The subscription to maintain this service is expensive and if you find it valuable to your research and want the Omaha Public Library to continue to have this available, you need to let them know.
Links
Link to the Omaha Public Library Genealogy Resource page with information about the trial database
Follow Omaha Public Library on Twitter
Omaha Public Library on Facebook
The link to this article is http://longlostrelatives-smp.blogspot.com/2012/06/omaha-world-herald-1885-1983-images.html
