Don Your Deerstalkers: the World of Research

Published on July 16, 2024

By Carrie S.

What do a pig costume, a ghost town, and the band Kiss have in common? All are subjects in recent research requests submitted to Siouxland Libraries.

Did you know Siouxland Libraries has a dedicated team of staff with their fingers flexed and pens poised, ready to take research requests from customers? Local library users are encouraged to come to the library to conduct their own research, but for those outside of our service area, for a small fee, staff can do research on their behalf.

Working in a library is amazing. There are so many aspects to the job; one of my favorite things to do is connect customers with information. There is so much satisfaction to be found in being able to locate details on a family member for someone doing genealogy research. We often get requests for obituaries and yearbook information, but you'd be surprised at the variety of queries that come in. We've helped authors by locating lists of particular Sioux Falls stores in a given year, found newspaper articles on specific pork protests, uncovered the history of the ghost town of Palisades, and made a German Kiss fan's day by sending them articles relating to a tour that stopped here in 1983! We just never know what requests will come in and I cannot wait to open that inbox.

So, what if you’re conducting your own research? Well, we can help with that too! Siouxland Libraries has a huge list of resources available to help you on your way, and I’m going to start with my new favorite. We now have access to the Argus Leader historical archive, which means you can search in a database instead of risking seasickness with endless scrolling on the microfilm. Have a play on it, search for your family members (this is how I found out Grandma Dorothy caught a beast of a brown bullhead back in 1983) or look up a significant news event you remember. I searched November 4, 1889 to see the reporting on South Dakota’s birthday, or how about the Moon Landing or death of Elvis Presley?

It’s easy to lose an afternoon once you get going, especially if you’re like me and get distracted by all the vintage ads. Another great thing about the Argus Historical Archive is that you can access it from home with your library card, so you don’t even need to come to the library (but you really should, because it’s awesome!)

For those that prefer to use the microfilm reader, head Downtown and our staff would love to show you how to use it. We have access to the Argus Leader 1886–2024, Sioux Falls Daily Press 1885-1913, Lakota Times 1981–1992 and a few other historical regional publications. You can also request particular microfilms through Interlibrary Loan if we don’t have what you’re looking for. I have a soft spot for using the microfilm—I immediately feel like a sleuth about to get a break in a case.

Working on genealogy? Get access to these databases for free with your library card and finally uncover your origin story. You can search census and immigration records along with extensive military records. Please note that the Ancestry database can only be used within the library but FOLD3, Heritage Quest, and Sanborn Maps can be accessed from home with your library card.

Other physical resources available are:

• Yearbooks for Sioux Falls public high schools at the Downtown Library
• The City Directory from 1885–present
• The Caille Room located in our Downtown location contains a research collection focused primarily on the history and culture of the City of Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County. There are also items documenting the history of neighboring counties, the state of South Dakota, and the Native Americans indigenous to the area. These items are non circulating but can be used within the library.
• Genealogy Collection housed at the Downtown library for the purpose of family history research.

Libraries are information hubs; but remember, even if we don’t have what you are looking for, we want to connect you with those that do. Be sure to ask and staff can refer you to other resources depending on your research needs.