Librarian Terri in Clovis, New Mexico

Genealogists have the unique experience of occasionally running into a librarian who is nothing short of an angel. In pursuit of obituaries in New Mexico, I happened to pick the wrong library but did I ever get the right librarian—one Terri Gleaton at the Clovis-Carver Public Library...an angel.

The obit I was looking for (Gayle Urul Lawson, F.A.G. memorial 67717425) wasn’t in Terri’s library. So Terri sent an email to the New Mexico State Library. The library—in record time I might add—got the obit back to Terri and she very kindly forwarded it on to me. The entire exchange took two days—one day of Terri emailing me and a few hours on day two of Terri emailing the state library, and then forwarding the obit to me.

Terri also explained the process for getting obituaries in New Mexico.

1. Enter the request with the local library. If you’re looking for an obituary in Clovis, they have an index you can check: http://www.usgwarchives.org/nm/curry/currobit.htm
2. If the local library can’t find it in their collection, the library can forward your request to the state library to see if they can fulfill your request.

If the state library finds the obit, they forward a PDF to the local library, which can then forward it on to you. In the case of the Clovis-Carver Public Library, the service is free as long as you are able to accept a PDF via email.

When I checked the Clovis obituary index, I found five entries for obituaries I need. The Clovis-Carver Public Library has made this remarkably easy to do. Terri makes the entire exchange a pleasure.