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*Tracing Your Roots > First Steps in Family History > Miscellaneous Sources
* Directories 
 
There is no national collection of directories, although both the Guildhall Library and the Society of Genealogists have large collections. Leicester University Library (at *www.le.ac.uk) has, however, recently received lottery money to make a number of directories available on the Internet. Local studies libraries usually have directories for their area. The National Archives Library also has a small collection of street and trade directories. Many directories are now being copied and sold as microfiche or on CDs.

You can use directories for:

  • Checking the address of people, although you should remember that the information in directories was often a year or two out of date at the time of publication. If a family was not where they should have been on census night, it is worth checking to see whether they moved around the corner.
  • Checking occupations. In working-class families the householder may have continually changes jobs - so the entry in the directory may be different to that which appears on the census.
  • Finding out more about the community. Many directories include a description of the place, local facilities (such as schools and churches) and notable points of interest.

Creators: Simon Fowler

 
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