Source Information
About PERiodical Source Index
PERSI gives family historians access to materials they would otherwise not have available. Note that due to the taxing nature of this work, individuals mentioned in passing will not appear in PERSI; this is not a full-text index.
PERSI also organizes articles into locality, but only those where the geographic categorization is clearly valuable, e.g., cemetery transcription or newspaper extracts. Locality entries are classified by the type of record the article includes, e.g., biography, cemetery, census, etc, to indicate the content of the article to researchers.
What is PERSI?
The Periodical Source Index, or PERSI, is a subject index to genealogical and local history periodicals. Periodicals are simply publications produced regularly as part of a series--magazines, newsletters, journals, etc. There is an amazing amount of genealogical records and knowledge that is published in these periodicals every year. PERSI is an index to this material.
PERSI began as an ambitious project of the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Their lofty goal was to gather all genealogical periodicals, both past and present, and index their contents. This growing database has become the largest dataset of its kind, containing over 1 million references to helpful articles.
How is PERSI organized?
The Periodical Source Index CD-ROM is organized into the following four main sections:
- Surname Section
- Locality Section
- Research Methodologies Section
- PERSI Bibliography
The Locality Section indexes genealogical articles concerning specific regions of the United States, Canada, and the world. Researchers using the Periodical Source Index can filter searches to a specific country, Canadian province or U.S. state, and even to a specific county within that state.
The Research Methodologies Section indexes ""how-to"" articles on various subjects. The Allen County Public Library has categorized these articles into the following subjects:
- Biographies
- Cemeteries
- Census
- Church
- Court Records
- Deeds
- Directories
- History
- Institutions
- Land
- Maps
- Military
- Naturalization
- Obituaries
- Other
- Passenger Lists
- School Records
- Tax Lists
- Vital Records
- Voter Lists
- Wills
How can PERSI help me?
Without checking genealogical periodicals, researchers miss out on arguably 25%-30% of the available knowledge on a given topic.
Curt Witcher, Allen County Public Library
Researchers use PERSI to locate articles that may help them. Thousands and thousands of articles are written every year about various genealogical or historical topics. Rather than duplicate exacting research already performed, individuals should read articles that save them time by making them aware of new (or obscure) sources, helping them understand a record type or records repository, or actually laying out the history and relationships of a given family.
Are all periodicals indexed in PERSI?
PERSI does not contain reference to every genealogical and local history article ever written. Though PERSI has grown much throughout its existence, and will be updated on an annual basis, there are many periodicals, both current and historical, that have not yet found its way into the collection. However, PERSI is by far the largest collection of its kind.
Be sure to record from the index the information about the article you wish to obtain, including article title, periodical title, volume, issue, etc.
Clicking the article's hyperlinked title will reveal the appropriate periodical entry in the PERSI bibliography. This entry lists the name and address of the periodical's publisher. Call or write to the organization or individual to request information about ordering back issues of their publication.
In addition, the PERSI bibliography may list several records repositories and libraries in the United States (including the Allen County Public Library) who have at least some issues of the periodical in question. While only a few major libraries may be listed, you may also want to check your local academic or research library for back issues.
The Allen County Public Library has the back issues of all periodicals indexed in PERSI. You may contact the library for copies of the articles at the following address:
Historical Genealogy Department
Research Center
Allen County Public Library
P.O. Box 2270
Ft. Wayne, IN 46801-2270
Click here for order form.
