August 15, 2025
This week I took a tour of the Coe Library at the University of Wyoming with the Albany County Genealogical Society. The tour focused on the library’s resources for genealogists. Highlights included the Chisum Special collections and an overview of the university’s huge digital newspaper collection.
Anyone who has ancestors in Wyoming will find a wealth of information at the Coe Library. It would be worth a trip to Laramie to explore its resources.
The tour reminded me that university libraries are an often-overlooked genealogical resource. They are frequently the repository of special collections including historic maps, manuscripts and more. In addition, university libraries contain academic books that may be of genealogical interest. Finally, university libraries usually provide access to newspapers in their locale.
If an ancestor attended a specific university, university libraries may hold yearbooks and other records about him/her. Prominent (or even not-so prominent) graduates of a university may have deposited their personal papers there. This may be true even in cases where the graduate lived his life in places distant from the university after he graduated.
Professors may also have deposited their professional papers in a university’s special collections. For example, a distant cousin of mine was a professor at the University of Utah. He donated all his papers, professional and personal, to the library. The personal papers, which were not directly related to the university but were included in his donation, contained handwritten family memoirs written by his various cousins at the family’s annual reunion. In addition, there were originals and copies of old family photos that I’d never seen. I found this treasure trove of family information by searching the university library’s catalog.
The first step in using university libraries is to access their online catalog. This can help you get a feel for what the library may contain and how you might access it. Many items at university libraries will be one-of-a-kind items and may require an in-person visit. Other items may be available through various interlibrary loans and online.
Books at university libraries are often available through resource-sharing systems such as the Prospector system which allows patrons to borrow materials from libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. Other areas have similar systems.
No matter where your ancestors lived, there was likely a university nearby. Be sure to check out their library, even if your ancestor didn’t attend that university. There will likely be books and newspapers and other materials that can further your research.
Happy Searching,
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society