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== Overview == | == Overview == | ||
The Periodical Source Index, or PERSI, is the largest subject index to genealogy and local history periodical articles in the world. Created by the staff of the Allen County Public Library Foundation and the ACPL’s Genealogy Center, PERSI is widely recognized as a vital tool for genealogical researchers. PERSI indexes articles in 11,000 periodical titles (including 3,000 defunct titles) published by thousands of local, state, national and international societies and organizations, arranging 2.25 million entries by surname or location and 22 basic subject headings. An important tool for genealogists looking for new avenues of investigation, PERSI’s usefulness is not limited to family history researchers. Local historians and academics, archaeologists and demographers, as well as students from elementary to graduate school and beyond, will all find PERSI an important asset in their research. | The Periodical Source Index, or PERSI, is the largest subject index to genealogy and local history periodical articles in the world. Created by the staff of the Allen County Public Library Foundation and the ACPL’s Genealogy Center, PERSI is widely recognized as a vital tool for genealogical researchers. PERSI indexes articles in 11,000 periodical titles (including 3,000 defunct titles) published by thousands of local, state, national and international societies and organizations, arranging 2.25 million entries by surname or location and 22 basic subject headings. An important tool for genealogists looking for new avenues of investigation, PERSI’s usefulness is not limited to family history researchers. Local historians and academics, archaeologists and demographers, as well as students from elementary to graduate school and beyond, will all find PERSI an important asset in their research.<ref name="ACPL">"Ask a Genealogy Librarian" Service, Historical Genealogy Department, Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 2010.</ref> | ||
[[Image:PERSI search screen.jpg|thumb|left]] The PERSI project began in 1986 with efforts directed at indexing both “current” issues, to be published in annual volumes, and “retrospective” issues, to be published in a 16 volume set covering 1847-1985. The [[Family_History_Library|Family History Library]] made the 16 volume set available on microfiche for its branches, but the print volumes provided the principal access for researchers until Ancestry began to briefly issue CDs containing the entire retro set, all annual volumes, plus additional pre-1986 material. In 1997, the last year for which an annual print volume was produced, PERSI was made available as an online database at [http://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com]. PERSI is now regularly updated and fully searchable at both [http://www.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/index HeritageQuestOnline.com] and Ancestry.com, although updates to the Ancestry version of the database are sometimes delayed. Under the auspices of the ACPL Foundation, the project currently employs a staff of eight, including a full-time supervisor and assistant supervisor, as well as part-time encoders (indexers), editors, and request fulfillment personnel. | |||
[[Image:PERSI search screen.jpg|thumb|left]] PERSI | |||
It only indexes family names in article titles, not all the names of people mentioned within the body of an article. It is more useful for researching American and Canadian families prior to the mid-1800s because they are more likely to have descendents who published an article about their ancestors. But PERSI may also help with more recent arrivals as well.<br> | It only indexes family names in article titles, not all the names of people mentioned within the body of an article. It is more useful for researching American and Canadian families prior to the mid-1800s because they are more likely to have descendents who published an article about their ancestors. But PERSI may also help with more recent arrivals as well.<br> | ||