Belfast Newspaper Library

One of my favourite resources for genealogical research is the Belfast Newspaper Library.

Exterior of Newspaper Library on Library Street, Belfast.

Prior to 2013, I mainly thought of it as the place people went to get commemorative front pages for birthdays and anniversaries. Today, I realise that it holds a treasure trove of free-to-access information for anyone on the ancestral hunt, and most of this stems from the vast archive of death notices.

I know they are not the cheeriest documents to read through, but in days gone by, people included their home addresses in their insertions, so instantly you are able to place an entire family line on a geographical track.

My great-uncle's death notices from 1944.

Insertions were, as they are now, put in by: neighbours, employers, colleagues, and any groups to which the deceased held membership. Crucially, they listed the burial location. So, suddenly you can get a very full picture of the type of life your ancestor lived.

Of course, the Newspaper Library can be useful for more than just death notices: if you find any hint that one of your ancestor's had some legal trouble, then you can look up the daily reports from the Court Sessions.

If you decide to visit for the first time, here are some small tips that will speed up your searches:

• Make a list all the dates you want to look up before you go. There is nothing worse than arriving and then suddenly trying to recall your fourth cousin's date of death from 83 years ago.

• Bring loose change. A4 and A3 print-outs cost only a matter of pence (£0.10-0.15 if memory servies) so there is no point showing up with £20 notes or your Mastercard.

• Request both The Belfast Telegraph and The Irish News. You can certainly browse more rural publications if you are certain that they cover your ancestor's domicile, but the dates held by the Library for those are a little more sparse and irregular.

• Request microfilms, rather than hard copies. I know that microfilm machines can be a bit tricky to use, but the staff are happy to get you set up, and from there it is much more efficient to carry out your searches. Hard copies (while lovely to touch) are cumbersome to hold, given out only one at a time, and personally make me terrified of ripping the browned-pages at every turn.

• Bring a digital camera. Even your smart-phone is fine. Just be sure to ask the staff, and normally they have no problem with you taking your own photographs - just turn off the flash!

Other than that, there isn't much you need to know. The Library is in a fantastic city-centre location - just off Royal Avenue and around the corner from Central Library. It is also always in need of support from the public, so please make the most of this resource if you can.