New Bedford Public Library launches Standard-Times online obituary index, 1968-today

NEW BEDFORD —The New Bedford Public Library fields many requests for help finding Standard-Times articles it has on microfilm, from the Nantucket Sea Serpent Hoax of 1937 to a loved one's obituary.

Finding that obituary can be difficult and time-consuming.

If your memory of the date is vague, the microfilm archives have to be scrolled through day-by-day in hopes of locating the right date among 365 annual, multi-page options.

But the Library now offers an alphabetical index by year and last name of every obituary published in the Standard-Times from 1968 to the present. It provides the date of publication, section, and page number.That makes locating the obituary on microfilm far quicker and easier.

If compiling all that information seems like a lot of work, that's because compiling all that information was a lot of work.

Library Director Olivia Melo said Library staff took on the task during the 15 months the building was closed due to COVID.

"We needed to find projects for people and here was a project that we never had the time to work on," she said.“We are a city that cares deeply about family, community, and celebrating our family histories,” Melo added. “This is a great example of work done by library staff during the hours we were closed to the public. Even with the doors closed, our library staff continued to work on projects that benefit the community."

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Staff meticulously scanned and created digital copies of the library’s obituary index collection. "It's basically a card catalogue," she said.

Reference Librarian Amy Ferguson said new microfilm scanners, the same as those used by the U.S. Library of Congress, also simplify the process. It can scan an article and convert it to an emailable format.

The Library still employs the older microfilm machines, as well, but they can only print out a hard copy.Ferguson said those seeking an obituary can go to the Library's website and find the index under the Adult Services tab, listed as Obituary Index.

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People can follow up with the reference department with an online request form under Quick Links' Ask a Librarian on the left rail of the Library homepage.

Or, equipped with the obituary information, they can come into the Library and look it up themselves.

Ferguson said the obituary requests are made for genealogy purposes or for emotional reasons - she noted the number picked up around Thanksgiving this year, probably as a byproduct of folks reminiscing around the dinner table.

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They average about five such requests per week, she said.

Ferguson also worked on the request for the sea serpent articles. The gigantic sea serpent tracks found on a Nantucket beach turned out to be the creation of puppeteer Tony Sarg, who wanted to call attention to Nantucket, and - it was speculated - to his local curiousity shop.

The obituary index continues to be updated daily as librarians review the newspaper’s obituary page and then add the data to a spreadsheet.

The obituary index, unfortunately, doesn't include obituaries prior to 1968.

Residents with questions or requests for assistance can email nbmref@sailsinc.org or call 508-991-6278.

For those who want help with genealogy research, the library has a subscription to the Ancestry Library Edition. Genealogy classes will also be starting in March.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford Library has easy way to look up Standard-Times obituaries