Printed Professional Directories
| This article originally appeared in Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records, edited by Kory L. Meyerink. |
Professional directories cover a wide range of professions and occupations at national, state, and local levels. Most national professional directories are listed in the previously mentioned Directories in Print. State and local professional directories can be found in libraries that have genealogy collections or in large public libraries.
The APG Directory of Professional Genealogists (Denver, Colo.: Association of Professional Genealogists; usually issued every two years) lists more than one thousand professional genealogists. Published as a guide for those who need assistance with their genealogical research, the Directory also fills the needs of lawyers, court officials, and geneticists. The 1997 edition is arranged alphabetically by country; the United States is listed first. Within each country the listing is by state and provides the following information for each entry: name, address, and telephone number, research specialty, related services, and geographic specialty. A short biography offers additional information for most entries. Three easy-to-use indexes provide access to entries by geographic specialties, U.S. ZIP code, and an alphabetical index to members of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists publishes a biennial list of certified genealogists. Certification Roster: Researchers, Editors, Instructors, Librarians, and Writers, 1997-98 (Washington, D.C.: Board for Certification of Genealogists) lists researchers, editors, instructors, lecturers, librarians, and writers. Arrangement is alphabetical by state. Each entry provides information concerning the type of research conducted, the geographic areas of speciality, and the research facilities consulted.
Who's Who in Genealogy and Heraldry, edited and published by Mary Keysor Meyer and P. William Filby (Savage, Md.: Who's Who in Genealogy & Heraldry, 1990), lists individuals prominent in the fields of genealogy and heraldry. Criteria used by the editors for inclusion in this directory were (1) contribution to the field, (2) significant achievement in the field, and (3) public interest in the person considered. Those chosen included authors and editors of significant genealogical/heraldic publications, selected accredited and non-accredited professionals, genealogical reference librarians, and publishers of genealogical/heraldic works. Useful when biographical information is needed about a genealogist, lecturer, librarian, or author in the field of genealogy, this reference source is used primarily by other professionals in the field.
Other types of professional directories can be of assistance when searching for ancestors who lived in large cities in the twentieth century. Directories of doctors, lawyers, labor leaders, and other professionals can be useful to family historians. The Family History Library Catalog of the Family History Library is an excellent place to search for these directories; look in it under the country, state, county, and city of interest.
