Media Release 01 Dec 2009
Wondered who those skeletons in your closet are? Want to know how to find a convict ancestor? Is there a reason the family never talks about one of the relatives? Where do you begin? Try our new website!
The State Library has now made it easier to trace your family history with the launch of “Dead Reckoning: how to find your way through the genealogical jungle of Western Australia”. The new edition is available online making it available 24 hours a day. It can be accessed by typing in www.slwa.wa.gov.au/dead_reckoning.
Dead Reckoning on-line, by Steve Howell, a Subject Specialist with the Battye Library, has drawn on the Western Australian historical resources within the State Library and the State Records Office to produce the most comprehensive guide available for researching Western Australian topics. As an online resource it can be regularly updated and kept current. Links to forms, Google maps, other websites, etc. are available for a more comprehensive search. With this powerful internet tool at your fingertips family skeletons may not stay in the closet much longer.
For those without their own computer access, you will find computers available at local libraries and Telecentres throughout the State.
The State Library of Western Australia is located in the heart of the Perth Cultural Centre. It preserves and provides access to Western Australia’s published heritage and original historical records. The State Library also provides numerous on-line and e-resources, many of which are accessible from home using your public library membership. To see what else the State Library has to offer you please check out the State Library’s web pages at http://slwa.wa.gov.au/
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Sarah Brown Tel: (08) 9427 3217
State Library of Western Australia Email: sarah.brown@slwa.wa.gov.au
Linda Frederick Tel: (08) 9427 3151
State Library of Western Australia Email: linda.frederick@slwa.wa.gov.au