Dublin City Libraries will be closed from Saturday 3 to Monday 5 May 2025 (inclusive). Our online services will continue as usual. We will reopen on Tuesday, 6 May.
Family connections have a special significance for us at the moment, and I’ve been thinking about my great grandmother’s story espeicially. Born in the middle of a cholera epidemic, she went on to survive the long uncertain absences of her sailor husband, the death of several of her children and two world wars. Our ancestors were survivors!If you have a little extra time on your hands, why not try and find out a bit more about your family heroes, or indeed your black sheep? You can begin to put some flesh to the bones of your family stories using the free online resources available to any member of Dublin City Libraries.BorrowboxWhy not start by soaking up inspiration from other people’s family histories? There are some fascinating memoirs, biographies and family sagas available as ebooks or e-audio books on Borrowbox. You could try A Bold and Dangerous Family: The Rossellis and the Fight Against Mussolini by Caroline Moorhead, the story of one family’s couragous fight against fascism. Or Robert Tickner’s Ten Doors Down: The Story of an Extraordinary Adoption Reunion, a deeply moving memoir that describes the author’s search for his birth mother who was forced to give him up for adoption.Watch our how-to video on Borrowbox. Access eBooks/eAudiobooks on your phone, tablet or reader. Once you have installed the app, search for Dublin in the ‘Library’ field provided and then sign in using your library membership card number and PIN. Members of other library authorities will need to access BorrowBox using a different link.The Great Courses PlusYou might prefer to begin your family history journey by taking a self-paced course in genealogy. The Great Courses Plus offers online lectures by experts on all sorts of subjects, including 15 hours worth of tuition on Discovering Your Roots: An Introduction to Genealogy. Alternatively, check out Genealogy 101 on Universal Class where you can choose to work towards a certificate or just follow the classes for fun.RBdigitalFamily history magazines are also available to you via RB Digital. Titles like Who Do You Think You Are?, Your Family History, Irish Roots and Military Family History provide great ‘how to’ guides for using a host of family history resources as well as amazing insights into a whole range of historical events that your ancestors might have lived through, or their experiences at work or play.And when we’re up and running again, don’t forget to come in and check out Find My Past or the Irish Newspaper Archives at your local library and begin tracing your family’s journey!
