Last night I watched this video on YouTube (click on the word video or YouTube to view the video). I’ve never watched any of Carly’s videos before, so I let it repeat. Seeing a young lady walk into a bookstore and being unable to find the books she wanted caused the inner-librarian demon perched in the depths of my heart to rear its ugly head.

Who were these poor salesmen at Barnes and Noble? I asked. Why couldn’t they find something of interest for Carly? Why weren’t they asking any of the right questions?

Questions such as—What do you mean when you say, “genealogy books?”

Do you want books that teach you genealogical skills and practices? Books such as Organizing Your Genealogy by Drew Smith? Or Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History by Megan Smolenyak?

Do you want genealogical reference materials that genealogists might pull from the shelves when facing a tough issue? Maybe something like Elizabeth Shown Mills', Evidence Explained? Or even something like Ernest Thode’s German/English Genealogical Dictionary?

Since genealogy is a multidisciplinary field, do you want books that help you explore a tangentially related topic that helps you in your work? Maybe something like Kip Sperry’s Reading Early American Handwriting?

Do you want some sort of memoir that is also an exploration of genealogy but borders on genealogical entertainment? Like It’s All Relative by A. J. Jacobs or Unearthed by Meryl Frank?

Do you want some kind of non-fiction that can help inform the genealogical work you’re currently working on? I recently picked up A History of Heists by Jerry Clark and Ed Palatella because I learned of a number of bank robberies various family members had connections with.

Now, I’m not here to say Barnes and Noble typically carries any of these books. Or that Carly asked the wrong questions. Sometimes I’m searching high and low in bookstores and libraries the same as her and can't find what I want. But I do wish I knew exactly what is thought of when people say genealogy books.

Because genealogy is a business, and that means money, and money means there should be something out there in the way of book stores catering to genealogy enthusiasts. And if we can’t find it, or aren’t writing it, or haven’t produced it in some way, then we’re probably doing something wrong. Not Barnes and Noble. And right this second I am not talking about books that are a collection of records that have been transcribed and collected as a genealogy resource--such as Scottish Soldiers of Colonial America or First Census of Kentucky, 1790.

No I'm not talking about those books because, well, I don't believe for one second they're on the list for my next thrilling read (genealogy fan that I am). And I don't believe for one second that Barnes and Noble would ever stock something like that. 

Because in the end, let's be frank, even the genealogy world won't let those texts truly circulate (Do we even know how thrilling those texts actually are?), even in the local history room at your local library. Sometimes my inner-librarian demon just wants more, more, more genealogy. 

Unfortunately, some texts will probably only remain available in local and genealogical libraries, and on sites such as HathiTrust, The Internet Archive, and FamilySearch. 

Don't worry, throughout all these questions and discussion, I understand the difference between entertainment, utility, knowledge, and all the reasons people create resources that are published by genealogical publishing companies. But that doesn't mean there's not some opportunity to explore what people want when they enter this field and hobby called genealogy. 

Even so, we can still find something genealogically related at the book store, right? Please tell me I'm not wrong. Because no matter how much I love genealogy, Scottish Soldiers of Colonial America will not be my next thrilling read. 

But Unearthed might.