In order to fully enjoy and be thankful for the present, it often requires taking a look back at the past — seeing how far we’ve come while being optimistic about the future and how far we can go. There are many different local archives in the form of libraries and museums that gladly open their doors, books and collections to local residents looking to dig deeper. It might be research for a homework assignment on a family tree or simply an inquisitive mind curious as to what a home or street looked like decades ago.
If you’re looking for answers, the
Kent District Library (KDL),
Grand Rapids Public Library (GRPL),
The Western Michigan Genealogical Society, and the
Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives have your answers.
Beth Green, KDL Gaines Township branch librarian, says KDL has a few different tools for the general public when it comes to researching local and family history. Depending on the branch, a few also have their own unique local history rooms, like the East Grand Rapids branch. KDL provides access to
ancestry.com to visitors inside the branch.
One of the more ‘hidden gems’ KDL offers, according to Green, is their access to the Grand Rapids Press historical archives.
“It covers a very large selection of the GR Press in digital format,” she says. “It’s fully searchable, and most of the time, you can read the entire page, not just one segment. You can search for obituaries, marriage and weddings and other random things. It’s available through our website, and it’s a great resource because it can also work alongside the Western Michigan Genealogical Society.”
Genealogy has been a growing pastime for many Americans and people all over the world, and helps create a sense of belonging, says Green.
“It really gives you a sense of place, not only within your own family when you research your ancestors, but within the neighborhood and city where you live,” she says.
The general public is able to access the library’s public computers during open hours even without a KDL library card, via guest passes at the front desk. Green also says staff are always willing to help.
“Depending on the branch, there might be a branch librarian who does have some knowledge on how to get started in genealogy,” she says. “It doesn’t hurt to ask for help at the front desk if you’re interested in something or want to know how to get started.”
Julie Tabberer, manager of the
Grand Rapids History Center at the
Grand Rapids Public Library says GRPL also has several resources with local history and genealogy.
“We have archives, which are primary source materials like photographs, diaries, letters, and business records,” she says. “We have over 1 million photographs and over 500 different collections. We also have a furniture collection and a rare books collection.”
The materials are kept safely preserved in a temperature and humidity-controlled, behind glass doors. Visitors can fill out request slips for staff to bring out items from the archives and take a closer look.
“There are audio and videos as well, like oral histories — it’s basically anything that helps to tell the story of Grand Rapids and the people that make up the community,” Tabberer says.
Given Grand Rapids’ background in the furniture industry, there’s also a fairly unique collection definitive of this specific community. The furniture design collection was started for furniture designers and decorative arts to borrow materials for their art design and visuals. Today, it is the second largest collection of books on furniture in the country.
GRPL also partners with the Western Michigan Genealogical Society, hosting monthly meetings there. Tabberer considers genealogy a very meaningful and impactful element of history and self-discovery.
“Genealogy, family history and local history all provide so much meaning,” she says. “We are all such complex people and communities are made up of complex people. Telling stories is really helpful in making meaning of our lives, and that family and local history helps to give you that sense of place, where you fit into the story, and how you fit into your community or your family. That’s really rewarding to be able to work with people.”
The History Center is open during regular library hours, and is on the fourth floor of the main library downtown. Providing access to these resources is very important to GRPL leadership. Visitors do not need a library card to access the archives on-site.
Mindy Koole is the president of the
Western Michigan Genealogical Society (WMGS). The group was started in 1954 by individuals interested in preserving their family history. Today, the organization meets once a month on the first Saturday of the month at the GRPL with guest presenters teaching different aspects of genealogy. Past speakers have discussed various topics such as Saint Andrew’s Cemetery, a Catholic cemetery that dates back to the 1850s; Polish or Dutch research and tips on how to search with court or vital records.
“You hear about these historians in all these little towns with all this information just stored in their head. They know where things are and what things used to be, and it’s important for them to somehow preserve it,” Koole said. “Whether it’s an oral history or in writing or if they’ve collected all the documentation, historians have been doing that for a long time. As a family genealogist, we’re doing the same thing. We’re collecting, resourcing, and enjoying the pursuit of finding out what things were like for our family members.”
Although genealogy and local history archives are about digging through the past, Koole says the advances in technology and those likely to occur in the future have made a tremendous impact on their ability. Instead of taking physical trips to look at a dated, faded newspaper, now the curious can search digital databases of periodicals in seconds. Advances in DNA have also led to expedited searches of family backgrounds, and can help with important health data and genetic traits.
Anyone is welcome to join the WMGS meetings. The next WMGS is 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in the Ryerson Auditorium in the main library, 111 Library Street NE.
“People can send a question to us, and we can get back in touch with them to help,” Koole says. “They can go up to the fourth floor of the library and leave a message for us. On Thursdays a lot of times, I’m up there working on a project, and there’s a couple other people in there that are willing to answer questions.”
Executive Director of the
Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives (GRAAMA), George Bayard is committed to ensuring that African American history be preserved locally. Before opening the GRAAMA, Bayard owned galleries of fine African American art in town.
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Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives Executive Director George Bayard III and his wife, GRAAMA Education Coordinator Deborah Pryor Bayard
“At one point, we just started to take in collections from people,” Bayard says. “Our collection became so large that we had to figure out something other than our museum to store and show them. We did a traveling exhibit for a while. We were just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, and the building we’re in now is owned by the city of Grand Rapids.”
That was eight years ago, and today, the museum has more than 1,000 different books offered to the public. GRAAMA also has old newspapers, photographic archives, album covers, event programs, music posters and video archives. They lend out artifacts to secured locations such as libraries and churches too.
Access to these historical archives is important for Bayard, who says it’s part of the reason why he got into the museum business in the first place. Currently, the museum and archives are both free to visitors.
“There wasn’t anybody collecting works by African American people. The history was being lost,” he says. “One of our first projects was oral histories, and we started out interviewing people here in their eighties to nineties, and began finding out a wealth of information. We were amazed at how much was here, and the fact that things were being lost was one of the driving forces of us starting to collect things that told the story of people that were from here.”
Bayard says at the heart of the museum and archives, the mission is really to preserve items that could otherwise be lost forever.
“Even now, we’ve got a list of things since we’ve opened that we’re still looking for,” he says. “There’s supposedly a tape of Malcolm X speaking here at Fountain Street Church. We’ve been looking all over the city for that tape for eight years. People in the community have things that they have no idea are valuable and tell part of the history of Grand Rapids. Our main focus is local history, and that’s the thing that is ever-changing and ever more elusive, because sometimes as people die off, those stories and those artifacts get lost, stolen, misplaced or thrown away — and there’s history along with it.”
GRAAMA is in the process of expanding and moving to a new museum location to allow more space for the ever-growing archives. Bayard says they will be in a new space next year, a building six times the size of their current space. They’re also hoping to add an appraisal department for people to bring items in to see how much they’re worth or learn about the stories behind them.
“There’s a whole section of people here in town that are experts on different parts, Negro League baseball, boxing, R&B or gospel music,” he says. “There are a lot of little trees that branch out from the main history of Grand Rapids, that tell all these little stories that we are anxious to record. All these stories are valuable to us, and we don’t really want to lose any part of any of those stories.”
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Literacy Matters is a series focused on the importance of knowledge, community resources seeking to remove barriers to access, and the value of our library systems to society. Literacy Matters is supported by Kent District Library.
Sarah briefly lived in Grand Rapids years ago, before moving back to Lansing, but that West Michigan love never really left her heart. Through her coverage on small businesses, arts and culture, dining, and anything mitten-made, she’s committed to convincing any and everyone —just how great the Great Lakes state is. Sarah received her degrees in Journalism and Professional Communications. You can find her in a record shop, a local concert or eating one too many desserts at a bakery. If by chance, she’s not at any of those places, you can contact her at [email protected].