About PERSI and Ordering Articles

How to Search for an article in PERSI (Periodical Source Index)
 
For example, let's say you are looking for an article on poll lists for Manchester Township in Family History Capers and the "Combination Subject Index" lists an article called "Some Names from Manchester 1844 Poll List." You can search for the article in PERSI by location, keyword, or article title.
 
[1] Search by Location: This is the most efficient approach.
  1. Go to the PERSI Search Page. Select "United States" to initiate a Location Search.
  2. Select US State = Michigan, County = Washtenaw. Tap Search button for 2,550+ results.
  3. In the table on the next page, select "Voter Records." Results are summarized by category.
  4. The second item listed is "Manchester twp. poll list, 1844," the indexer's version of this title,
  5. Verify the title by checking the issue in the Capers Archive because the title in PERSI may not match the title in Capers.
[2] Search by Keyword or Article Title: This allows us to search within a set of results.
  1. Go to the PERSI Search Page. Select "Article Title Keyword" to initiate the search.
  2. First Search: Enter a keyword of at least five consecutive characters. Upper/lower case and punctuation are ignored. More results take time to download. Try "manchester" without quotes to get 1,485 results.
  3. Second Search: On the results page for any search, enter new keyword(s) to search only within the current results. Try "poll list" to narrow it down to one - the result we want.
 
How to get a print copy
[1] Order a copy of the article from the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
  1. If needed, view "Welcome to the New, FREE, Periodical Source Index (PERSI)!" YouTube video (57:12).
  2. Search PERSI (Periodical Source Index)
    PERSI search results for an article in Family History Capers
  3. An order form link appears at top and bottom of search results. 
  4. Article Order Form: Fill out the form giving information from search results.
  5. Mail in the order form with payment per instructions on the form.
[2] Read Family History Capers in a library (use WorldCat to find a library that has it)
  • Ann Arbor District Library, Downtown Branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • Bentley Historical Library, 1150 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
  • Ypsilanti District Library, Michigan/Ypsilanti Room, 5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti, MI 48197; call no. not listed
  • Ypsilanti Historical Society Archives, 220 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (entrance on north side)
  • Detroit Public Library, Burton Collection, 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202
  • Library of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, MI 48915
  • Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, 900 Library Plaza, Ft. Wayne, IN 46802
  • Mid-Continent Public Library, Midwest Genealogy Center, 3440 S. Lee's Summit Rd., Independence, MO 64055
    • 2010-current, call no. not listed
  • New York Public Library, Schwarzman Bldg. - Milstein Division of US History, 476 5th Ave. (at 42nd St.), First Floor, Room 121, New York, NY 10018
    • Ask a Question; vol. 9-current, call no. APR (Washtenaw Co. Mich.) 87-4369
  • Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20540