Kentucky Room Daviess County Public Library 450 Griffith Avenue Owensboro, KY 42301 (270) 684-0211, ext. 224 The Kentucky Room, on the lower level of the library, contains a wealth of information about Kentucky. The primary focus of the collection is west central Kentucky, the history of Kentucky and its families, and sources on the states that significantly contributed to the settlement of Kentucky. The Kentucky Room was established as a separate department of the library in 1968. It contains an excellent group of materials on all aspects of Kentucky. The collection includes in excess of 6,000 volumes and 3,500 microfilm reels. In the past year about 10,000 patrons were served by the Kentucky Room. The Kentucky Room is a closed collection and all materials must be used within the room. The general book collection can be searched by subject, author, and title on the library's computerized catalog, via several terminals throughout the library or by phone dial-in. For the public's use the Kentucky Room currently has: one catalog terminal one computer for: exploring the Internet, searching the Church of the Latter Day Saints' program "Family Search", or searching the Kentucky Room's database of Owensboro obituaries (currently includes the years 1900-1919 and 1980 to the present) 8 microfilm and 3 microfiche readers 1 photocopier (10 cents per copy) and 1 microfilm/fiche printer (20 cents per copy) Hours: Monday- Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday 9 a. m. to 8 p. m. Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. closed holidays Staff: Three fulltime and one parttime employees have a combined experience of 44 years. They are dedicated to the collection and preservation of materials on Kentucky's history. They seek to educate others on how to best utilize the collection and provide recommendations for research. The staff has also sought to compile and create new data sources on the local area, these include: indexes & abstracts of Owensboro newspaper obituaries, indexes to local census records, compilations on papers of local genealogists, books on local office holders, and several specialized indexes. Mail & Phone Services: The Kentucky Room will answer requests for information through the mail (e-mail) or by phone. The staff, however, cannot undertake extensive research or photocopying. A list of private researchers is available upon request. Some Features of Collection: books on genealogy (how to & sources) family histories county & state histories census records (all KY counties, 1810-1920) county court records tax lists (for many KY counties, pre-1876) historical & genealogical periodicals Kentucky vital statistics military history & records Kentucky biography Kentucky literature local newspapers subject & family surname vertical files map collection oral history (300 tapes) Kentucky city directories & phone books local photograph collection special collections of various local individuals & organizations Check These Out: Microfilm/fiche Records Our favorite Internet sites, related to Kentucky history & genealogy Cyndi's List of Kentucky Genealogy Sites Kentucky GenWeb Daviess County GenWeb , site on Kentucky Gen Web Kentucky Historical Society Kentucky Vital Records Index Margaret I. King Library, Univeristy of Kentucky Owensboro Online US GenWeb Project U. S. Historical Census Data Daviess County Public Library pages: Public Access Catalog Reference Department Inter-library loan service Kentucky Room Daviess County Public Library Copyright ©1997, updated June 25, 1999