Library helps with tracing family trees

The Ventura County Library has two new Web-based resources that make it easier for patrons to trace their family trees. HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition allow users to explore their roots by searching a surname.

A holder of a Ventura County Library card can access the databases through the library's website, www.vencolibrary.org. From there, click on either "Databases" or "Research." There users will find the library's electronic resources collection arranged by subject and listed alphabetically. The links for HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition are under "Genealogy."

HeritageQuest Online can be accessed from home as well as from within the library. The database has genealogical and historical information dating back to the late 1700s. Besides United States federal censuses, it offers family and local histories, Revolutionary War records and other information.

Ancestry Library Edition can be accessed from the library's Internet workstations. The site allows patrons to search by name, and provides information from U.S. census data; birth, marriage and death records; World War I draft registration information; Social Security death records; and immigration lists. There is also information from the United Kingdom.

For more information, visit www.vencolibrary.org.