At the library, you're looking for records of the events in your ancestors' lives. For example, if you can find out what church they attended, you can later try to locate the church records that were generated. Yes, it may occasionally feel as if you're searching for a needle in a haystack, but be persistent. If your family lived in the area, they generated records, and you'll find them. Each additional snippet of information will lead you to more, and you'll become more experienced in searching as well.

Here are six sources of information most libraries will have that can be invaluable to the amateur genealogist – sources that many beginners don’t even know exist:

First settlers' records and memorabilia: Historical societies in many counties work to collect information on the early settlers to an area. You're likely to find anything from book manuscripts to maps, to taped interviews in this section. Look for any mention of your ancestors' names. If you don’t find anything, note down the names of the people who created the information, or the names of the officers of the historical society. If you contact them, they may be able to help you.

Obituary and necrology indices: Many libraries have collections of old obituaries. Look through these for any mention of your ancestors' names.

County histories and indices: Every county has a county history published in the late 19th century or early 20th century, and some have several; they were very popular in that era. They contain the histories of the towns and cities in the county, with photographs or drawings of the early settlers. You may find photos of your ancestors, with short biographies. Check with the librarian whether indices have been created of the information, because these histories didn’t normally include them when they were first prepared. If there's no index, you'll be spending considerable time looking through the pages for your ancestors' names.