Library Donations & Wish List

Donations to the FHGC
The Family History & Genealogy Center is the museum's research library.  We collect a wide variety of books and print material pertaining to Danish immigrants, their families and descendants, Danish-American communities, churches and institutions, as well as background information on immigration and Danish history and culture. We are particularly interested in family, church and institutional histories, and Danish local histories and genealogical compilations.

Most of the FHGC collection has been donated to the Museum. Unfortunately, much valuable material tends to be discarded as people down-size or die, particularly if the items in question are in a foreign language.

Although we cannot accept everything offered, we do appreciate offers of books and other print materials, as well as copies of photographs and family documents.  Contacting us ahead of time with a list of potential donations rather than just sending us the material saves time and money on both ends.  

When unsolicited material is received that duplicates or falls outside the Center’s collection policy an effort is made to find an appropriate home for it elsewhere. Other institutions with substantial holdings of Danish materials include The Danish American Archive & Library in Blair, Nebraska, and The Danish Immigrant Archive at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.

If you have questions about books, genealogical or other print materials you would like to donate, please contact the librarian.  For pre-arranged donations, the FHGC Donation Form may be printed off  for inclusion with the materials.

If you would like us to create a file on a Danish immigrant, fill out the Immigrant Information Form and return it along with photographs or documentation.

For donations of artifacts and original photographs and documents or if you have general questions about donations, contact the Curator of Collections.

Our Wish List
The following are some items that we would like to add to the FHGC collection. If they are sitting unwanted on your bookshelves or you would like to ‘adopt’ them by making a donation toward their purchase, please  email Michele McNabb or call 877.764.7008.
 

English-language materials:   

• Abridged Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative Index ($139.50 on Alibris)
• A History of Ida County [Iowa], edited by Bruce L. Godbersen (1977).  This was a limited edition, so if anyone has a copy they no longer want it would find a good home with us.
• Muscle and Manliness, by Axel Bundgaard (2005; $29.95 on Amazon.com)
• St. Louis Family History Research Guide, by Ann Fleming (2008; $25 + $5 s/h).
• With a Brush and Muslin Bag: the Life of Niels Ebbesen Hansen (2003), by Helen H. Loen.
  
• Strangers in Hollywood: the History of Scandinavian Actors in American Films from 1910 to World War II, by Hans J. Wollstein (1994; $59.50 on amazon.com)
• Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900 ($43.80 on amazon.com)
• Dana College yearbooks:  anything before 1927, 1928-1930, 1932-1944, 1946-1954, 1957-1963, 1968 to 2010
• Grand View College yearbooks:  anything before 1920, 1928-1929, 1933, 1935, 1940, 1944, 1947, 1950, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1972, 1977 to the present
• Kirke og Folk/Church and Life:  early issues (prior to 1973); contact librarian for desired later issues.

 Danish-language materials:

• Jorden rundt efter guld: mine rejser og oplevelser som guldgraver (Around the World After Gold: My Travels and Adventures as a Gold-Miner), by Robert Andersen (1938).
• Find din slægt -- og gør den levende, by Jytte Skaaning og Bente Klercke Rasmussen.
• Ordbog for slægtsforskere, by Heini Madsen.  2nd ed.
• I centrum ved grænsen - portræt af Sønderborg Kommune (In the Middle at the Border - Portrait of Sønderborg Municipality), by Peter Dragsbo. (2006; available from Historisk Samfund for Als og Sundeved).
• Danske børnehjem i billeder og tekst (Danish Orphanages in Picture and Text; 1900), by various authors.
• Dansk adelsleksikon (Encyclopedia of Danish Nobility). There are numerous editions of this title and accompanying volumes available from online antiquarian book dealers for a wide range of prices. We would like to obtain at least one set.