The following announcement was written by the Godfrey Library:
Godfrey Library publishes the American Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI). The AGBI is a 226 volume every name index of hundreds of genealogies, including unindexed and partially indexed genealogies. The AGBI also indexes the Boston Transcript genealogical column that appeared from 1896 to 1941, the 1790 census, parts of the Pennsylvania Archives and various vital, church and military records. About 300 large libraries, in addition to the Godfrey Library, have print copies.
The only online addition appears on Ancestry.com. That is about to change. Beginning in January 2009 the AGBI will no longer be part of Ancestry.com. Instead the AGBI will be part of Godfrey Library's paid subscription service, Godfrey Scholar, and will also be part of World Vital Record's database offerings.
The American Genealogical Biographical Index is an invaluable first step in any genealogical research. Since the AGBI also sorts names by birthdate whenever available, it is also an important research tool when the the same given name appears many times during a surname search. The AGBI also sorts by geographical location within a surname listing.
Godfrey Library owns all the material indexed in the AGBI.
Godfrey Library, a library of genealogy and family history, is located in Middletown, Connecticut. www.godfrey.org.
The BYU Family History Library has also gone to the effort of having a complete collection of the AGBI source material.
Posted by: Nick | September 29, 2008 at 07:35 PM
The Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center (Fort Wayne, IN) also has a complete collection of the AGBI source materials available for researchers. The AGBI remains a consequential tool for genealogists.
Posted by: Curt Witcher | September 30, 2008 at 03:44 AM
Interesting. I've wondered about the potential long-term consequences of the FamilySearch.org (LDS) indexing project on Ancestry. Godfrey’s announcement does nothing to dispel my belief that Ancestry no longer has the stranglehold on fee-based genealogy it once did.
Posted by: Dennis Lohr | September 30, 2008 at 09:41 AM
With the online newsbank and other newspaper sources that are clogging Ancestry and WorldVitalRecords and Footnote indices, isn't there one online source available for the Boston Transcript 1896-1941 images?
Posted by: Harry | September 30, 2008 at 09:54 AM
Godfrey has long been one of the best bargains in paid online genealogy resources. Although I have access the the printed volumes at our local library in Fort Worth, I prefer the online version. Welcome back, Godfrey!
Happy Dae.
http://www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com
Posted by: Dae Powell | September 30, 2008 at 10:27 AM
As far as I know (as a former patron of the Godfrey Memorial Library) they do not have print copies to ALL of the information they include in the AGBI. It was my understanding (from speaking with the librarians) they also utilized some of the resources of the Connecticut State Library.
The reason why I am a former patron has to do with the fact I moved out of state. I would definitely still be a patron of theirs if I lived in the area.
Posted by: Raymond T. Wing | September 30, 2008 at 07:40 PM
As far as I know (as a former patron of the Godfrey Memorial Library) they do not have print copies to ALL of the information they include in the AGBI. It was my understanding (from speaking with the librarians) they also utilized some of the resources of the Connecticut State Library.
The reason why I am a former patron has to do with the fact I moved out of state. I would definitely still be a patron of theirs if I lived in the area.
Posted by: Raymond T. Wing | September 30, 2008 at 07:41 PM
"The only online addition appears on Ancestry.com."
Is it really an addition -- or should it be "edition"?
Thanks.
Posted by: Dolly in Maryland | October 01, 2008 at 07:07 PM