We at the Champaign County Library are happy to assist you in your genealogy research. If you live out of town, or are unable to come in and use our genealogy collection yourself, we do offer some basic research services. Keep in mind that time and staff constraints prevent us from assisting in detailed or large projects.
Requests may be submitted via postal mail or by e-mail. In order to assure the accuracy of information, requests should be made in writing. Phone requests are discouraged. We cannot always remember or track what has been done in previous correspondence with each patron. Please include a postal mailing address or email address with all correspondence and allow at least 2 weeks for us to respond to your request.
To assist you with your search, please review the library’s collection prior to sending a request. This information, including records available, is listed on the Library’s Local History’s web site
Please insure that your requests follow these guidelines:
Requests should be specific in nature. General requests may be returned without action. As much detail as possible should be included with the request: i.e. birth/death date, spouse or children’s names, etc.
Examples of acceptable requests:
- Please check for burial information for John SNOW and his wife Adele in Champaign County cemetery records. They were in the 1870 census but not the 1880.
- Can you locate an obituary for Fred JOHNSON who d. 15 Jan 1923 in Urbana, Ohio?
Examples of unacceptable requests:
- Will you check your records for any information on the Joseph Smith Family of Urbana, Ohio?
- Can you locate the parents of Sarah JAMES b. ca. 1838 OH?
FEES: A minimum fee of $5.00 will be charged for all requests that produce results. This includes postage and 10 copies. Additional photocopies are 25¢ per page. There is no charge for information scanned and emailed.
E-MAIL REQUESTS: Submit to reference@champaigncountylibrary.org and use the subject line “Champaign County Request.” Please include your postal mailing address so copies may be mailed to you if you so desire.
US POSTAL (MAIL) REQUESTS: Please submit to: Champaign County Library, 1060 Scioto Street, Urbana, OH 43078 Attn: Genealogy
Please also keep in mind that federal copyright laws may prevent us from fulfilling a request (we cannot photocopy an entire book, or significant portions of the book, without permission from the author and/or publisher).