Rita Gibson said the genealogy library at the Lewis and Clark Library is a well-kept, but unintentional, secret.

But all that is changing, she added, courtesy of the Internet.

More and more people are getting interested in researching their family heritage and genealogy, and they are looking to the library for help, said librarian Karen Huck. So through thousands of volunteer hours, the genealogy library catalogue is now available online.

And what’s more, it’s become part of the Montana Shared Catalogue — a consortium of 92 libraries in the state that share the cost of maintaining a genealogical database — which gives researchers a lot more resources.

“We could not afford it individually,” Huck said.

The database is a boon for anyone working on family history, she said. It’s something of an enormous electronic card catalogue, with listings of more than 4,600 books in such subject areas as “reference,” “societies,” “family,” and “location.” Each listing includes where the book is available and a description of what the book contains.

For example, there are 222 volumes of vital statistics, alphabetized by town, in Massachusetts up to the year 1850; another listing includes a list of personnel from a 1869 U.S. Army registry.

“I proved my family line of New England ancestors,” said Gibson, an East Helena resident.

The genealogy library at the Lewis and Clark Library is co-owned by the Montana State Genealogical Society and the Lewis and Clark Genealogical Society and housed at the library.

Huck said the librarians are there to assist. They don’t do research for patrons, but are happy to offer helpful suggestions.

“To me genealogy is like a big picture puzzle and we are putting pieces in it,” Huck said. “Some days the pieces fall in, and others take years.”

The real-world genealogy library at the Lewis and Clark County Library is run entirely by volunteers, whose numbers have recently dropped because many who donate their time are snow birds and spend winters away from Montana, said Mary Pitch, president of the Lewis and Clark Genealogical Society.

“We are always looking for more (volunteers),” said Pitch.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer at the genealogy library should call Pitch at 431-7005.

On the Web

Click here to access the Montana Shared Catalogue.

Open house

The genealogy library is holding an open house on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in the large meeting room of the Lewis and Clark Library; users will share their stories of researching family histories.

Location

The genealogy library is located upstairs at the Lewis and Clark Library and is open on Tuesdays and Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Reporter Alana Listoe: 447-4081 or alana.listoe@helenair.com