Have you ever wanted to start delving into your family history but don't know where to start? Maybe you are well down the track of putting together your family tree, but just can't seem to get past a research roadblock? Help is at hand!

August is Family History Month, an initiative of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations, designed to encourage our community to explore their family connections and promote the work of libraries and local history and genealogy groups scattered all over the country.

These days there is so much information that has been digitised and available online, but there is nothing like getting expert help from those who've been down the research road before, says Orange City Library's Local Studies Librarian Ruth Bingham

"We have volunteers from the Orange Family History Group, who come in every Friday, and they can assist with research," Ruth told Orange City Life on a recent visit to the library's local studies collection.

"Usually, we have about four volunteers in here that can assist with research, and then there are other volunteers who do projects during the week."

The library and the family history group regularly field a whole variety of inquiries via email or even visitors popping into the library in person.

"We get enquiries from all around Australia," Ruth said. "We had an enquiry recently where somebody had a photo of family members standing out in front of a house and all they had was the house name on a plaque... so we were able to go through our records, electoral roles, census details and we were able to locate that house and let that family member know where it was."

Another recent enquiry had Ruth and volunteers find the location of the old Wellington Inn, a wayside hotel that once stood at Lidster.

"We were able to go through old parish maps and other old maps and newspaper articles, books, other resources and we were able to pinpoint where that old inn was- that was in the 1860s," Ruth said.

But more than just responding to research requests, Ruth and the Orange Family History Group are available to teach people how to access all these resources themselves.

"Sometimes, if it's the first time they've ever started looking, they just have a name, and that's it," Ruth said, "but we can guide them on the best way to find the information that they're looking for.

"And they can pop in to the library anytime and access our local studies collection and use Ancestry and Find My Past... There are a lot of different books that are invaluable when you're doing your family history and research. We've got books on the local history of the area, families of the area, pioneers, events that happened in the local area. We've got old newspapers and records on microfilm, and we can access Newspapers online through Trove, and even up to the current day."

You will find Orange Family History Group volunteers in the local studies sector of the Orange Library every Friday. The group also hold meetings on the third Tuesday of each month at 1.30pm.

"And everybody's welcome, whether they just want to come along and learn more about the family history group or get involved," Ruth said. "We're always looking for volunteers, and we love hearing people's stories and what they're looking for."