Genealogy and People Search

Ancestry Library Edition is unavailable. We're working on restoring access.

Library access only

Ancestry Library Edition is a comprehensive online source of information for genealogical research, with billions of names in over 6,000 databases. 

You can use Ancestry Library Edition on any public Library computer or on a personal device that's connected to the Library's WiFi network.

Remote access was discontinued on December 29, 2021.

Census records; birth, marriage and death records; immigration records; vital and church records; military records; and court, land and probate records are included. Popular databases include the U.S. Federal Census from 1790 to 1930, Social Security Death Index, Civil War records, U.S. Public Records Index, American Genealogical-Biographical Index and Federal Slave Narratives.

Check out the Ancestry Library Edition tutorial from Niche Academy.

See About Ancestry Library Edition for video tutorials and user guides.

AtoZdatabases is a directory and marketing database that includes 30 million businesses and 220 million residents. It is ideal for sales leads, mailing lists, market research, job searches and finding friends and relatives. You can email, print or download results. 1,000 downloads are allowed per search.

New listings are added to the New Movers & Homeowners and New Business databases each week. New listings are added to the Healthcare database quarterly. The other databases get new listings monthly. Existing listings are verified annually.

• Use the Quick Lookup features to search by Business Name, Headquarters Location, First and Last Name, City, State or Phone Number. If you don't find the business you are looking for in the Quick Lookup, search the 30 Million Businesses database with the All Businesses option selected.
• Use Universal Search to cross-search Business & Consumer databases to find phone numbers, people or businesses.
• Email records to one or more email address. You can also print and download records to Excel or PDF formats.
• Use QR Code to instantly download business contact information into your device.
• Customize your detailed listings to suit your needs by simply clicking and dragging the section.
• Use the Map Based Search for targeted geographic listings.

The business database is compiled from Secretary of State Filings, national directory assistance data, annual reports, SEC filings, corporate registers, public records, thousands of yellow and white page directories and specialty business directories. The residential database is compiled from data sources including thousands of white pages, national directory assistance data, real estate deed and tax information, voter registration data, mail order data, warranty cards and many other sources. You can search a database of 7.9 million healthcare professionals, and search by specialty, state of license and more.

1. The business database video will demonstrate how to find useful information on possible business competitors, vendors, suppliers or customers (for business-to-business commerce). This video will show you how to search for businesses in your industry and geography and export that data for use in your business plan.
    
2. The consumer database video will demonstrate how to find useful information on possible consumers and potential customers for your business. This video will show you how to search for consumers in a specific geography and segment them by demographic characteristic such as: income, home value, age, etc.
    
3. See AtoZdatabases' Intro Videos for more search tips.
    
4. Register for one-hour webinars at AtoZU on topics such as Basic Searches, Grow Your Business and Job Searching.
    
5. Check out the AtoZdatabases quick course from Niche Academy.
    
6. For additional resources, the City of Austin Small Business Division provides business training, educational events, and coaching to empower entrepreneurs.

Black Newspaper Collection (Historical) is unavailable. We're working on restoring access.

Black Newspaper Collection (Historical) includes searchable articles from Black newspapers in the U.S. with select coverage for the years 1893-2010.

• Articles display in PDF format.
   
• Please check the resource directly for title list and coverage.
   
• To search obituaries: choose Advanced Search, go to Document Type and check the Obituary box.

Find search tips and more on ProQuest Historical Newspapers LibGuide.

The Dictionary of American Family Names contains more than 70,000 of the most commonly occurring surnames in the United States, giving their comparative frequencies, linguistic and historical explanations, selected associated forenames and occasional genealogical notes. It explains the meanings—some intuitive, some amusing and some quite surprising—of the family names for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population.

It is also available through the Oxford Reference portal.

Fold3 Library Edition provides US military records and archives dating back to the Revolutionary War for genealogy and history research. 

Check out the Fold3 tutorial from Niche Academy.

See Fold3 Library Edition LibGuide for search tips.

The Gale Business: DemographicsNow subscription will expire on January 15, 2024. 

Please visit Statista and AtoZdatabases for market research and business information.

Gale Business: DemographicsNow provides demographics data, market research and directory information on 24 million businesses and 206 million residents.

• People: From individuals to large lists, data can be compiled from over 135 million U.S. households—organized by name, address, telephone number, or a variety of U.S. census neighborhood data averages.
• Companies: Includes individual business profiles from 24 million businesses, refined by company name, executive title, business type, number of employees and credit rating.
• Demographics: Information includes income, housing, race, age, education, retail spending, consumer expenditures, and businesses by state, county, zip code, and congressional district. The Demographics tab leverages Census data, consumer expenditures, retail spending, and Mosaic Lifestyle market segmentation groupings to help you "crunch" data in easy-to-use report formats. It provides complete demographic information for any geographic territory, from a summary report to a comparison of up to sixteen different geographies within a single report.
• Maps: Powerful, user-friendly Google mapping technology lets you customize maps in a variety of views, and add thematic layers to the map based on demographic variable.
• Reports lets you create a variety of compiled reports to help make informed and accurate decisions. You can gain consumer and market insight for opening a business, find an untapped audience for products or services, or analyze the shifts and needs of a given population.

1. Watch these video tutorials for quick tips.
    
2. Check out this tutorial from Niche Academy.
    
3. Watch this 35-minute webinar for more training.
    
4. For additional resources, the City of Austin Small Business Division provides business training, educational events, and coaching to empower entrepreneurs.

Gale In Context: Biography contains more than 600,000 biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study. Content includes reference sources, videos, audio selections, images, primary sources, and magazine and journal articles.

View the Niche Academy tutorial

Download the title list [xslx]

The Genealogy and People Search Research Guide provides research tools for the following topics:

• Contact Information for People
• Genealogy

HeritageQuest Online helps researchers find data from the U.S. Federal Censuses from 1790 to 1930; more than 22,000 full-text family and local histories; and PERSI, a subject index of 6,300 local history and genealogy periodicals.

It includes Revolutionary War pension and bounty-land-warrant application files, as well as the Freedman’s Bank Records, an important resource for African-American genealogical research. Additionally, there are more than 250 primary-source documents such as tax lists, city directories and probate records.

Check out the HeritageQuest Online tutorial from Niche Academy.

See About HeritageQuest Online for video tutorials and user guides.

The Oakwood Cemetery Database is a listing of burials in Austin's oldest cemetery, Oakwood, located at 1601 Navasota St. The names included in this database were extracted from centuries old ledgers preserved in the archives at the Austin History Center. The data reflects the verbatim transcription of these records dating from 1866 through 1919, with additional years being added periodically.

For more information, visit the Austin History Center's Reference Services page.

ProQuest African American Heritage provides African American family history research, including the 1860 U.S. Federal Census.

Check out the ProQuest African American Heritage tutorial from Niche Academy.

See the ProQuest African American Heritage LibGuide for search tips.

Texas Digital Sanborn Maps provide detailed property and land-use records of Texas towns and cities from 1867 to 1970. Details on buildings include outline, size and shape, construction materials, height, use, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries and house numbers.

See the About Digital Sanborn Maps for tips on browsing the collection and viewing the maps.