Researching Family History Online - Mansfield Central Library - Adult Learning

Mansfield Central Library, Mansfield

Date	7 - 14 November 2026
Sessions	Saturday: 10am - 12pm
No. sessions	2
Venue	Mansfield Central Library, Mansfield View venue details
For ages	19+
Group size	5 - 15
Cost	FREE - £16

About this course

On this engaging short course, you will learn how to research your family history using online tools and resources. Whether you’re a complete beginner or already curious about your ancestry, the course will guide you through practical ways to trace your roots and uncover stories from the past. Come along and discover how to bring your family history to life through confident online research.

During the course, we will look at some of the key genealogy websites and digital records available for family history research. This includes records on Ancestry.co.uk and the British Newspaper Archive, which can be accessed for free in Inspire libraries.

We will explore some of the benefits and pitfalls of researching family history online. and you will gain tips and techniques to help you make the most of what’s available and overcome challenges using online records.

You’ll then have the chance to put new skills and strategies into practice as you search online for information about your own ancestors (using library-provided laptops or your own device).

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

Identify and evaluate a range of online sources to gather accurate family history information
Describe some of the opportunities and challenges of researching family history online
Apply search strategies and digital tools to locate and cross-check genealogical data from different websites

Please bring a pen and paper to each session.

Booking your place and fee information

Funding and Fees

If you receive certain benefits, you may be able to take the course for free.
If money is stopping you from enrolling, please visit our funding page to see what help is available.

Living in England

To book and join one of our courses, you must live in England permanently and either:

Live inside the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) area (Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire)

Live outside the devolved areas listed below

You cannot enrol if you live in these devolved areas:

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
North East Combined Authority
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Tees Valley Combined Authority
West Midlands Combined Authority
West of England Combined Authority
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
Hull and East Yorkshire
Greater Lincolnshire
Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority
Cornwall Council
Lancashire Combined County Authority
Buckinghamshire Council

Residency Requirements (Additional Information)

If you live in the UK on a visa, we’ll need evidence of your visa to confirm funding. You can upload this when applying, and you’ll need to complete a short questionnaire.

Some exceptions include:

Your visa must last until after your course ends.
Asylum seekers must have lived in the UK for at least 6 months while their claim is being processed.
You are supported by your local authority under Section 23C or 23CA of the Children Act 1989, or under the Care Act 2014.

Anyone who does not meet the funding criteria would need to pay full course fees.