I've done research in both MD and DE Archives and found the staff in both places to be very helpful.? I was not searched in either place, but both do require you to put bags, etc., in lockers and carry your papers in.? I put pencils, sticky notes, paper clips, etc. in a little Ziploc, and neither place had a problem with that.? It took me a full morning to get comfy with the MD indexing system for their land and probate records.? It isn't very intuitive, but as some have also mentioned, you can get started online.? Be sure to take a sweater.? Both are cold.? But in DE, if you take your sweater off, it has to go into the locker....back of the chair isn't allowed. Happy hunting! Mary Beaulieu Researching: Dehorty/DeHority, Mauzy, Hupp, Douglas, Dobrovolskas, Wychulis in IN, DE, PA, MD, VA, Lithuania

Thank you for these helpful and specific tips.  I'll be glad I read them when I make my own pilgrimage to Annapolis later this year.  I can see the need for all the controls and security in the archives, but I hadn't thought about them, and would probably have shown up with notebooks in a satchel and other items that would have ended up in a locker out of my reach.  A ziplock with sticky notes it will be!   I agree with what others have pointed out about the importance - for your own sake - of doing as much  homework as  possible online before going to the archives, especially if staff time is limited.  Archives can be daunting to even seasoned researchers. Information is so readily available online, certainly the basics, more if one subscribes to Ancestry.com. The archives aren't really the best place for a beginner to start, and if the facilites are short staffed, that only makes the problem worse and could account for (but not excuse) crabby staff.  After thousands of hours of online research, networking and sharing, and exensive public library research (libraries will get books on loan from other libraries if you request them), I still feel a bit daunted and nervous about tackling the MD archives to find the remaining wills, deeds, and other documents that I need to tie down my existing source material. I know what a chore it will be.    Please folks, if you haven't already done everything you can online, don't try to tackle the archives. In addition to Ancestry.com, Rootsweb, and Familysearch.org, there are state and county websites and networking sites like this one and genealogy groups all over the USA. You'll be doing yourself a favor and making your research task so much easier if you know who you're looking for, their dates of birth, death, etc., and have as much information about lineage as you can find online.  You'll be especially glad you took this advice if you are allergic to dust and mold, the happy denizens of archives everywhere.   Happy hunting. --- On Sun, 9/7/08, catbaloo@aol.com <catbaloo@aol.com> wrote: From: catbaloo@aol.com <catbaloo@aol.com> Subject: [LDR] Library research To: LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS@rootsweb.com Date: Sunday, September 7, 2008, 6:52 AM I've done research in both MD and DE Archives and found the staff in both places to be very helpful.? I was not searched in either place, but both do require you to put bags, etc., in lockers and carry your papers in.? I put pencils, sticky notes, paper clips, etc. in a little Ziploc, and neither place had a problem with that.? It took me a full morning to get comfy with the MD indexing system for their land and probate records.? It isn't very intuitive, but as some have also mentioned, you can get started online.? Be sure to take a sweater.? Both are cold.? But in DE, if you take your sweater off, it has to go into the locker....back of the chair isn't allowed. Happy hunting! Mary Beaulieu Researching: Dehorty/DeHority, Mauzy, Hupp, Douglas, Dobrovolskas, Wychulis in IN, DE, PA, MD, VA, Lithuania *************************************** QUESTIONS about POSTING GUIDELINES, SUBSCRIBING or UNSUBSCRIBING? Visit The Lower DelMarVa Roots Mailing List FAQ: http://www.tyaskin.com/handley/ldrfaq.htm ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message