Library Databases

BadgerLink offers Wisconsin residents access to business, health, literature, magazine and newspaper resources, and many are available in full-text.  The following databases are among the many resources available through Badgerlink that may assist with your genealogy needs.

• HeritageQuest – Research ancestors and historical sources dating back to the 1700s.
• MasterFILE Premier– A general reference database with nearly 1,700 publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Accessed in BadgerLink’s Database List.
• Transparent Language Online – 100+ languages at your fingertips. Learn ASL, Ojibwe, Spanish, ESL, and more. Create an account with your library card number!
• EBSCOhost – A rich eBook collection of books, journals, and database content. Select the EBSCO Database List, then select the eBook Collection. Sign in at the top of the page.

*BadgerLink is a project of the Department of Public Instruction’s Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning for the citizens of Wisconsin. Funding is provided through the Public Service Commission Universal Service Fund.

Library Catalogs

NORTHERN WATERS LIBRARY NETWORK (NWLN)
NWLN is the regional shared catalog of NWLS member libraries. With a library card patrons can directly request, renew, and can check the status of items either checked out or on hold.
WISCAT
WisCat is the Wisconsin library catalog and can be used to search for items outside the local system. To fill out a WisCat request, use Spooner Library’s ILL Request Form.
WORLDCAT
WORLDCAT is a worldwide catalog of library collections. A user-friendly search page is available for patrons searching the catalog from home.

Government Information Links

City of Spooner: http://www.cityofspooner.gov Washburn County: http://www.co.washburn.wi.us/
State of Wisconsin: http://www.wisconsin.gov/
Wisconsin Statutes:  http://legis.wisconsin.gov/
Wisconsin Tourism: http://www.travelwisconsin.com/
Federal Government: http://www.usa.gov/
State Taxes: http://www.revenue.wi.gov/
Federal Taxes: http://www.irs.gov/
Social Security: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: https://www.va.gov/

Genealogy Tool Links

FamilySearch:  https://familysearch.org/
FamilySearch is a nonprofit family history organization dedicated to connecting families across generations.

Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/ Search by name to find obituaries of relatives and ancestors, and the site of their burial.

Rootsweb: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
An ancestry.com community. The primary purpose and function of rootsweb is to connect people so that they can help each other and share genealogical research.

US Gen Web: http://usgenweb.org/

World Gen Web: https://www.worldgenweb.org/
The goal of these organizations is to match you up with free genealogical information provided not by them, but through other websites and organizations. These two sites will help you find free census, marriage, military, birth, death, and local history records, along with other helpful information for your research. 

Library Digital Media

DIGITAL BOOKS, AUDIOBOOKS, MUSIC, VIDEOS
Wisconsin’s Digital Library catalog offers downloadable media (electronic books, films, music and audiobooks) to read on a pc or play on portable devices. For CD burning permission refer to the Digital Rights Information section at the bottom of each title page. Please review the Help Center to learn more.  To access Wisconsin’s Digital Library on your reading device and/or cell phone, download the Libby app.

Newspapers

Burnett County Sentinel: ​The Burnett County Sentinel was the county’s first newspaper when Matthew Westcott began publishing on Feb. 19, 1875. The Sentinel continued weekly until its building and presses were destroyed by fire in 1909. The business was sold to its competitor. The Journal changed its name to “Journal and Sentinel”, but later reverted to the Journal of Burnett County. When the Journal folded in 1962, Wilbur A. Nelson revived the Burnett County Sentinel. Following his death in 1975, his wife, Marjorie Nelson and son, Gary Nelson operated it until Feb. 1, 1994, when it was purchased by Mainstream Publications. It was then purchased by Eugene Johnson on Dec. 1, 1999 (website). The office is located at 114 W. Madison Ave., Grantsburg, WI 54840 and is open from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday – Friday.

Spooner Advocate: The Spooner Advocate, founded in 1901, is Washburn County’s leading source of advertising, news, and other information. Located at 251 E. Maple Street, the Spooner Advocate and its companion Total Market Coverage (TMC) product, The Weekender, serve all of Washburn County and parts of Burnett County, with a combined circulation of nearly 20,000 and a penetration rate of 99 percent of households in the area (Pulse Research Survey).
The Spooner Advocate office, located at 251 E. Maple St., Spooner is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers

Full-text daily and weekly Wisconsin newspapers from 2005 to 90 days ago, plus newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s. For student and adult researchers.

New York Times

• Access NYT while you are outside of the library here.
• Access NYT while you are inside the library here.

Newspapers.com

Historical newspapers archive from the 1700s-2000s containing thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers in the United States and other countries.