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A Look-Up Resource for International
Genealogical Research

What is Books We Own?

Books We Own is a list of resources owned/accessed by individuals who are willing to look up genealogical information and e-mail or snail mail it to others who request it. This is a free service - volunteers may ask for reimbursement of copies and postage if information is provided via snail-mail. The project began in 1996 as a way for members of the ROOTS-L mailing list to share their resources with one another. Today, there are nearly 2000 volunteers. The Books We Own website is hosted by RootsWeb.

Resource owners are volunteers with a limited amount of time and resources to spend looking up information. Before using this service, please review helpful tips for making requests.

Jenny Tenlen has served as Books We Own webmaster since February 1998, and is the third webmaster since this project was begun.

(For more information on the Books We Own, please see the article Jana Lloyd wrote for the Rootsweb Review and BWO Volunteer Gary A. Zimmerman's article for the Fiske Genealogical Library's December 2007 newsletter.)

Volunteers Wanted!

New and returning contributors are always welcome! Please go to the Contributor's Page to volunteer or to change your current listings.

Request a Lookup!

Please go to the Requesting a Lookup page to get some tips on how to place a request. After you have familiarized yourself with the project, please visit the project Library to start browsing through the listings.

In Memoriam

I wish to remember our lookup volunteers who have passed away: Cynthia Abbott, Jane McMurtry Allen, Carl Cason, Anne Cissel, Wayne F. Claire, Paul W. Cook, Elva Coombs, Nancy Hallberg, Shirle W. Hamrick, Chet Hollis, Terrance Jestin, Charmaine Keith, Lorraine Kemler, Mary Magnuson, Bev Ross, Delores Sanders, Nancy C. Sieck, Esther Snively, Helen Tregillis and Ken Wiltz. These volunteers made valuable contributions to the Books We Own project, and I extend my condolences to their families.

Project Updates

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