FREE TRIAL at Try-It! Illinois with access to MyHeritage, Fold3, Newspapers.com and More!
[Editor’s Note: This offer is only available to Illinois residents who can request login credentials online at http://www.finditillinois.org/tryit/. PLEASE DO NOT SHARE LOGIN CREDENTIALS!]
One of the benefits of being an Illinois resident is when the free trial of Try-It! Illinois starts in October of each year. Once again, for the 17th time, I can access HUNDREDS of online databases from the comfort of my genealogy cave thanks to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office.
Welcome to Try-It! Illinois 2020, the seventeenth annual statewide database trial, sponsored by Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White and the Illinois State Library. Try-It! Illinois offers the staffs and library users of the more than 5,000 ILLINET member libraries the opportunity to survey and evaluate a wide variety of electronic resources. Thanks to the partnerships between the Illinois State Library and the participating electronic resource vendors, there is no charge for accessing these databases during Try-It! Illinois.
Notable databases include fold3 Library Edition, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage Library Edition, Newspapers.com, NewspaperArchive, and more. Here’s a peek at what’s available in terms of genealogy and family history:
- African American Communities (Adam Matthew Digital)
- African American Historical Serials (EBSCO)
- African American Newspapers: The 19th Century (Accessible Archives, Inc.)
- African-American History Online (Infobase Holdings)
- America and World War I: American Military Camp Newspapers (Accessible Archives, Inc.)
- America and World War I: American Military Camp Newspapers, Part II (Accessible Archives, Inc.)
- America’s GenealogyBank (NewsBank Inc.)
- America’s Historical Newspapers (NewsBank Inc.)
- America’s Obituaries & Death Notices (NewsBank Inc.)
- American County Histories (Accessible Archives, Inc.)
- FOLD3 Library Edition (ProQuest)
- Historical Chicago Defender (1909-1975) (ProQuest)
- Historical Chicago Tribune 1849 – 1996 (ProQuest)
- Historical New York Times 1851 – 2016 (ProQuest)
- Historical Newspapers: North Central Regional Collection (ProQuest)
- Historical St Louis Post Dispatch: 1873-2003 (ProQuest)
- Historical US Major Dailies (ProQuest)
- Historical Washington Post: 1877-2002 (ProQuest)
- History eBook Collection (EBSCO)
- MyHeritage Library Edition (EBSCO)
- NewspaperARCHIVE.com (World Archives)
- Newspapers.com Library Edition (ProQuest)
- Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalogue (Open Access) (Accessible Archives, Inc.)
How Does Try-It! Illinois Work?
You MUST be an Illinois resident and provide valid contact information when signing up HERE. And as stated on the Try-It! Illinois site: “We ask that you not post the Try-It! Illinois login and password on the Internet, on Web sites or in publicly archived e-newsletters.”
Not an Illinois Resident? Try this …
Did you know that most states have a set of online databases, some available only to their residents? And that you can access many of these databases from home? Not every state provides this type of service, but if your state is listed below, check it out and see what you can find to help your genealogy research! And even if you aren’t a resident of that state, you’ll still find interesting and useful research information!
- Alabama: Alabama Virtual Library
- Alaska: SLED – Statewide Library Electronic Doorway
- Arkansas” Traveler Access
- Arizona: DAZL – Digital Arizona Library
- Colorado: Colorado Virtual Library
- Connecticut: researchIT CT
- Delaware: Delaware Libraries
- Florida: Florida Electronic Library
- Georgia: GALILEO
- Hawaii: Hawaii State Public Library System
- Idaho: LIli.org
- Illinois: TryIt! Illinois
- Indiana: INSPIRE
- Iowa: State Library of Iowa
- Kansas: Kansas Library eCard
- Kentucky: Kentucky Virtual Library
- Louisiana: Louisiana Library Connection
- Maine: MARVEL
- Maryland: SAILOR
- Massachusetts: Massachusetts Libraries
- Michigan: Michigan eLibrary
- Minnesota: ELM – Electronic Library for Minnesota
- Mississippi: Magnolia
- Missouri: Missouri Digital Heritage
- Montana: Montana Digital Library
- Nebraska: Nebraska Access
- Nevada: Research Resources
- New Hampshire: NHew Link
- New Jersey: Jersey Clicks
- New Mexico: El Portal
- New York: NOVELNY
- North Carolina: NCLIVE
- North Dakota: ODIN
- Ohio: OPLIN
- Oklahoma: Oklahoma Digital Prairie
- Oregon: Digital Collections
- Pennsylvania: Power Library
- Rhode Island: AskRI.org
- South Carolina: DISCUS
- South Dakota: South Dakota State Library
- Tennessee: TEL – Tennessee Electronic Library
- Texas: TexShare
- Utah: Utah’s Online Library
- Vermont: Vermont Online Library
- Virginia: FindIt Virginia
- Washington: Washington State Library
- West Virginia: WVINFODEPOT.org
- Wisconsin: BadgerLink
- Wyoming: GoWYLD.net
The information above is in my recent FREE CHEAT SHEET Genealogy & Online Library Access!
Click below to download your FREE PDF copy of Genealogy & Online Library Access!
About ILLINET
Illinois Library and Information Network is the cooperative network of multi-type (academic, public, school, and special) libraries in Illinois. The Illinois State Library coordinates ILLINET. Membership is open to those libraries, which are members of one of Illinois’ regional library systems as defined by the Illinois Library System Act [75 ILCS 10]. ILLINET includes, but is not limited to, ILDS and ILLINET/OCLC Services.
©2020. Copyright, Thomas MacEntee. All rights reserved.