NAPLES, Fla./Monday, October 30, 2006 — NewsBank, inc., one of the world's premier information providers, announced today the launch of , a direct-to-consumer service, and , a subscription service for libraries. Both provide researchers with unprecedented Web-based access to millions of the United States' core genealogical records from the 17th to the 21st centuries.
Available now exclusively through NewsBank, these comprehensive resources make it easy for genealogists to search and browse digital facsimiles of genealogies, obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements, local histories, casualty lists, military documents and other primary and secondary sources. Offering historical content published over hundreds of years and modern records from all 50 states, both GenealogyBank.com and America's GenealogyBank include five core collections:
- Historical Newspapers, 1690 to 1977—articles, obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements and other items from over 500,000 issues of more than 1,300 titles; updated monthly
- America's Obituaries, 1977 to the Present—over 22 million modern obituaries from more than 800 newspaper titles across all 50 states; updated daily
- Historical Books, 1652 to 1900—the complete text of over 17,000 genealogies, biographies, funeral sermons, local histories and more from books, pamphlets and other publications; updated monthly
- Historical Documents, 1789 to 1980—government and military records, casualty lists, widows' claims, pension requests and other items from the complete American State Papers and over 81,000 selected reports (more than 40%) from the U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1817-1903); updated monthly, with plans to complete content through 1930 by December 2007 and through 1980 by 2009
- Social Security Death Index, 1937 to the Present—over 78 million unique records with enhanced data (including exact age and city, county and state information), which genealogists can easily copy and save to their files; updated weekly
"For the first time, GenealogyBank resources have consolidated tens of millions of valuable genealogy records from 1652 to the present in a single database," said NewsBank's Director of Genealogy Products, Thomas Jay Kemp. "The wealth of historical and genealogical content NewsBank has microfilmed and digitized over the past 60 years—much of which was prepared in cooperation with the American Antiquarian Society—is now fully searchable online, with new content being added every day."
"[GenealogyBank's] constantly-expanding content is remarkably varied, immensely useful and delightfully out-of-the-ordinary," said Joy Rich, M.L.S., Editor of Dorot: The Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society. "GenealogyBank clearly was created and structured with the needs of genealogists at all levels of research in mind."
Researchers can gain unlimited access to GenealogyBank.com for $19.95 per month. For details on library subscriptions to America's GenealogyBank, contact your NewsBank representative. Visit for more information on GenealogyBank.com or America's GenealogyBank.
About NewsBank, inc.
NewsBank has been one of the world’s premier information providers for more than 35 years. NewsBank serves publishers, public libraries, colleges and universities, schools, government and military libraries, genealogists, professionals and researchers worldwide. Through partnerships with leading publishers globally, NewsBank provides Web-based access to more than 2,000 newspaper titles, as well as newswires, broadcast transcripts, journals, periodicals and other publications. NewsBank also offers authoritative digital collections of historical documents, curriculum resources covering all subject areas and extensive media services for publishers. For more information, visit www.newsbank.com.
