History & Genealogy

Access Ancestry.com (In-library Access Only)

Discover your family's story. Research your genealogy through censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents, directories, photos, maps, and more. Genealogical information and records from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and more.

In-library access only. 

Access Anne T. Kent California Room Digital Archive

Explore local history materials from the Anne T. Kent California Room collection, including photographs, oral histories and articles from historic Marin County newspapers. 

More information about the Anne T. Kent California Room.

Access Britannica Escolar

Escolar is the leading knowledge-building resource that is universally trusted for accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish.

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

Access Britannica School Edition

Britannica School is the go-to site for learning more about any subject—for all grades and all reading abilities—offering thousands of up-to-date, curated, and curriculum-relevant articles, images, videos, audio clips, primary sources, maps, research tools, recommended Web sites, and three separate databases—Elementary, Middle, or High.

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

Access California Digital Newspaper Collection

Access full image scans of selected historical California newspapers from 1846 to the present, including the first California newspaper, the Californian, and the first daily California newspaper, the Daily Alta California.

Marin County newspapers available on the CDNC include:

• Marin Journal (San Rafael, 1861-1922), opens a new window
• Marin County Tocsin (San Rafael, 1861-1918), opens a new window
• Mill Valley Independent (1908-1910), opens a new window
• Mill Valley Record (1907-1963), opens a new window
• San Anselmo Herald (San Anselmo, 1912-1946), opens a new window
• Sausalito Marin Scope (Sausalito, 1971-2019), opens a new window
• Sausalito News (Sausalito, 1885-1966), opens a new window
• Tamalpais News (1919-2020), opens a new window

See a full list of digitized newspapers, opens a new window available on the CDNC

Access HeritageHub

Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 – today. HeritageHub helps you easily identify relatives, uncover new information and potentially unknown family members. Includes deep coverage from all 50 states, hard-to-find content from the mid 1900’s, and original obituary images.

Availability: Not all libraries in Marin offer HeritageHub. Access depends on your residence address. Learn more.

Access The HistoryMakers

Access the largest oral history collection documenting the lives of African Americans from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. The nationally acclaimed digital archive features clips, images, and transcripts for the stories of thousands of prominent Black people.

Availability: Not all libraries in Marin offer The HistoryMakers. Access depends on your residence address. Learn more.

Access My China Roots

Discover your family history with the world's leading Chinese genealogy website. Search for zupus, burials, immigration records, census, directories, periodicals, and many more!

Availability: Not all libraries in Marin offer My China Roots. Access depends on your residence address. Learn more.

Access ProQuest Academic

Combination of several databases with over 20,000 publications that range from scholarly journals to popular magazines.  Databases include the Coronavirus Research Database, eBook Central, eLibrary, Global Newsstream, LA Times, Publicly Available Content Database, SIRS Discoverer and SIRS Issues Researcher.

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

Access Reference eLibrary

General reference collection of periodical and digital media content with editorial guidance for novice researchers. Includes newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, books, videos and audios, dissertations and theses, reports, blogs, and much more. (Grades 6+)

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

Access SIRS Discoverer

Selected content for beginning researchers, especially elementary and middle school students and educators. (Grades 3-9)

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

Access SIRS Issue Researcher

Curriculum-aligned database of content organized by complex issues, ideally for middle and high school students and educators. (Grades 6+)

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.