Young children learn about owls from wildlife rehabilitator Maria Waltz who brought a live owl for the children to see during Baby and Toddler Time at North Webster Community Public Library.

News Release

NORTH WEBSTER — Perhaps you have a box of old family photos you inherited from your grandmother, but the photos have no identifications or dates. How can you know who these people are or when they lived? North Webster Community Public Library has a number of books to help you solve the mystery of old photos.

There are a number of ways to figure out approximate dates by examining hairstyles, clothing styles, and makes and models of automobiles, machinery and other equipment shown in the photos. The photographic process used, such as if it is a Daguerreotype, tintype or paper print, is also a clue. Once a time frame has been determined, it may be easier to narrow down the names of the people in the photos.

Several books located in the Local History and Genealogy Department can help. They include two publications by Family Chronicles entitled “Dating Old Photographs 1840–1929” and “More Dating Old Photographs 1840–1929” and these books by Maureen A. Taylor “Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs,” Family Photo Detective,” Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album,” and “Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840–1900.” The library also has several vintage Sears and Roebucks catalogs that can help in dating clothing fashions as well.

The Youth Department has added a 50 book series on all the states in the union. Geared to fourth to sixth-grade reading levels, each book contains a state profile along with interesting facts and information about that particular state. The books are a good resource for writing school reports as well as interesting reading.

Stop by the library or browse the online catalog at www.nweb.lib.in.us to discover all the resources the library offers.