State Library of Ohio

Founded in 1817, the State Library of Ohio continues to be an amazing resource that is open to the public.  The library is a federal depository and has a remarkable collection of rare materials.  Some of those materials include a 1552 Complete Works of Martin Luther, medieval works on vellum, many original WWII posters and even a handwritten letter from President George Washington.

The library is also an excellent  genealogical resource.  For example, their Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home annual reports could be considered a registry of orphans and house important information not necessarily found through the U.S. Census.  The reports, along with other materials in the library, help genealogists fill in the details of their research “like the colors of a painting.”

Shannon Kupfer is the library’s digital and tangible media cataloger.  Through her own research, she was able to enhance the collection’s Ohio Holocaust survivor materials by reaching out and gathering additional details from a survivor living in Cleveland.  By doing so, Shannon helped preserve important information that would have been otherwise lost.