The State Library of North Carolina Genealogical Services maintains an extensive collection of published materials (i.e., books, periodicals) for genealogical research. None of the collection is available in electronic format to send through e-mail. Some of the publications in the collection include local histories; abstracts of county, state and federal records; bibliographies; indexes; and family histories. While the emphasis is on North Carolina, Genealogical Services has extensive materials on the colonial and post-colonial periods as well as the areas from which North Carolinians came and to which they migrated. All materials in Genealogical Services are reference materials and no materials circulate through interlibrary loan.

Prior to submitting your question on the form below, please check our Frequently Asked Questions page. We may have helped someone else with a question similar to yours.

If you need copies of original North Carolina records (i.e., marriage bonds, wills, etc.) created by or about your ancestors, contact the North Carolina State Archives, a separate agency within the Department of Cultural Resources. If you need birth or death certificates, please contact the Vital Records Branch or the State Archives.

Guidelines for submitting genealogical questions:

• The request must be for information from indexed, published sources or for specified page numbers from a specific title.
• Each request must contain one question about one specific person at a specific time in a specific county.
• No more than five indexes will be searched for each request. Microforms and unindexed books cannot be searched.
• No more than 15 photocopies will be provided for each request.
• Minimum charge for photocopies is $3.00. Photocopies are 20 cents per page.
• If photocopies are made, we will let you know the charge. In order to receive the photocopies, please send us a check or money order for the full amount along with a business size self-addressed stamped envelope.
• We reserve the right to refuse to accept a copying order if it would violate copyright law.
• Only requests concerning North Carolina ancestors will be accepted from out-of-state residents. Please contact the appropriate state repository for information on other ancestors.
• Do not submit additional questions until your previous question has been responded to and payment for photocopies has been received.
• Questions will not be answered unless you include your name, mailing address, and e-mail address.
• We will respond within 3-6 weeks. E-mail does not have priority over mail requests. Our first priority is to our walk-in customers.

Examples of questions the library can and cannot answer:

The State Library Genealogical Services CAN respond to requests such as:	Are there references to William Johnson in your published deed abstracts of Nash County for the 1820's? If the book William Johnson, 1732-1765, and Some Descendants is indexed, is there a reference to a William Johnson, born 1795 in North Carolina, perhaps Nash County, and died 1852 in Greene County, Ohio? I am trying to find the parents of David Dye, born ca. 1816 in North Carolina and moved to Tennessee by 1848. What sources do you suggest I use to try to locate this information? Records indicate that my North Carolina ancestors lived near Moyock. Where is that?
The State Library Genealogical Services CANNOT respond to requests such as:	Please send me anything you have on the Johnson family in North Carolina. Who were the parents of William Johnson, born 1795 in Nash County? Send me the census records for William Johnson. I am seeking information on the descendants of Robert Donaldson of Caswell County.

For requests requiring the use of North Carolina newspapers, please use the General Reference form.