Large Index Now Available On Cd-Rom

Sun., June 6, 1999

Donna Potter Phillips The Spokes

I wrote about PERSI in this column way back in the fall of 1995. Since then, PERSI has not only gotten bigger and better, but it is much easier to use because it’s now available on CD-ROM.

PERSI is the largest subject index of genealogy and local history periodical articles ever created. The index includes more than 1 million fully searchable citations from more than 5,000 genealogical periodicals.

Created by the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Ind., PERSI is widely recognized as an essential tool for effective genealogical research.

In printed form, PERSI spans nearly 30 large volumes and takes up several feet of library shelf space. But now this invaluable index is available on a single CD-ROM disk exclusively from Ancestry, Inc.

There are three steps to using PERSI on CD-ROM. A researcher may quickly search for a name, location, subject, title or date of interest. Once articles are found in the index, a simple mouse click takes you to detailed information about the article’s publisher, magazine or journal, as well as publication date and author. Each reference includes a list of where to find the article.

To obtain copies of the article, you can call or write the library or historical society listed under each reference. You may also order the article directly from the Allen County Library since it houses all the periodicals indexed by PERSI.

Here’s how to use the book form of PERSI in downtown Spokane Public Library’s genealogy department:

Surname: First, look up the family name in the SURNAME section. Next to the surnames, the first names are listed alphabetically. The next column states the record which contains your target name. The last column is a four-letter code that will lead you to the periodical’s full name and the issue where it can be found.

Place: The PLACE section is for looking up geographic places. This does not mean where the periodical was published, but the place pertaining to the published material. For instance, a periodical published in Oklahoma might contain cemetery records from Texas since the two states share a common border. To use the PLACE section, look up where your ancestors lived and you’ll find a listing of everything that’s been included in a genealogical periodical during the time period covered by that volume of PERSI.

Subject: Using the SUBJECT section is probably the most fun. Do you have an ancestor who served in World War I? Traveled on the Oregon Trail? Involved in bootlegging whiskey? Helped build the Panama Canal? Look up these subjects to find background material published in a genealogical periodical to help you understand the life and times of your ancestor.

The Spokane Public Library may not have all the genealogical periodicals indexed by PERSI, but copies of the article can be ordered via interlibrary loan or by contacting Allen County Library.

Patricia Law Hatcher, a nationally known genealogist, says if you haven’t checked PERSI, you haven’t done your research. Period. Make it a summer goal to use PERSI in your genealogical researching.

Order the PERSI on CD-ROM from Ancestry, Inc. at its website www.ancestry.com or by calling them at (800) 262-3787. Cost of the disc is $99, or sometimes it’s $89 on special.

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