Genealogy collection now in Library's hands

The genealogy group has elected to transfer ownership of its entire book collection to the Timmins Public Library, and their section has a new name.

It is now the “Rodolphe Labelle Genealogy Collection.”  Labelle’s efforts over the years has seen him put steps forward to create Genealogy Timmins, and work with the Library to house these historic documents.  He also maintained much of the books, but since he is retired, the group is giving ownership of the books over.

This collection of over 1,400 volumes of research material is comprised of marriage, baptism and burial records, local histories, genealogies of specific families, notary records, genealogy dictionaries, and more.

The collection has been housed at the Timmins Public Library since 2006.  Many items are considered valuable because they are no longer available for purchase in print.

The partnership agreement aims at strengthening the current relationships between the two bodies.  The genealogy materials are being donated with the purpose of enabling citizens of Timmins and surrounding area the opportunity to research their ancestors through the use of the collection

Members of Généalogie Timmins Genealogy will continue to assist patrons with genealogy research and act as consultants for the Library in matters related to genealogy.

This is an important step, as it will allow the Library to administer the collection, thereby cataloguing the items to include them in the online catalogue.

In the near future, people all over the north will be able to search the holdings from home, to better plan their trip to Timmins to do their research.