Guidelines for Answering Local History and Genealogy

The Lorain Public Library System Adult Services Department answers requests for local history or genealogy information in person, by email, or mail using the following guidelines:

LOCAL HISTORY AND GENEALOGY

Staff will perform research for local history or local genealogy questions. Lorain Public Library System Librarians will research when the information requested is likely to be only available from microfilm editions of our local newspapers or from our Special Collection's print materials. LPLS staff will not search census or computer databases for genealogy requests, which can be done by the requestor.

Requestors are asked to keep the following guidelines in mind as they submit local history or genealogy information requests to the Adult Services Department:

  • Be as specific as possible with your request. Staff will not research an entire family tree but will gladly show you how to being your genealogy research.
  • Include the exact date or week and year of the event. Staff will search for seven days after the date indicated to try to find the requested information. Depending upon the information you are researching, a "blind search" may not be reasonable.
  • You are welcome to visit the Lorain Public Library Main Library in person. The Main Library's Computer Resources Room has two microfilm reader-printer-scanner machines. Images found on microfilm can be viewed, printed or saved as a JPEG image file.
  • Lorain city newspapers make up the bulk of Lorain Public Library's collection of local microfilmed newspapers. We do not have microfilm of the Elyria Chronicle Telegram. We do have a few reels of microfilm from some old Lorain County newspapers. For information about the titles and dates of these other microfilmed newspapers in our collection, as well as other local history resources that we own, check out our "Adventures in Ancestry" page on the Library's website.

OBITUARIES

Obituaries may be ordered from the Lorain Public Library System in person, by email, or mail. 

In Person

Anyone may visit the Lorain Public Library's Main Library Reference Desk on the second floor during open hours for assistance in accessing obituaries on microfilm. The first five black & white printouts are free and then $0.10 per page after that, or they may be saved as JPEG images onto a flash drive.

By email or Postal Mail

Each request must contain the following information:

  • Name of the deceased
  • Date of death
  • Citation information from The Ohio Obituary Index (newspaper, section, page)
  • Your full, regular mailing address (even if requesting by email)
  • Your email address (if you would like the obituary sent to you as a JPEG image file)

By Phone

We regret that we cannot accommodate telephone requests at this time.

All requests are answered on a "first come-first served" basis.

Lorain Public Library Contact Information:

Local History Librarian
Lorain Public Library
351 Sixth Street
Lorain, OH  44052
Local-History@lpls.info

The Lorain County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogy Society's web page lists information about genealogy researchers who may be available to perform searches - either free or for a fee. Check out the information listed on their website.