Midwest Genealogy Center Collection

The Midwest Genealogy Center (MGC) is one of the United States' preeminent resources for family history, providing access to almost three-quarters of a million on-site materials. MGC features 52,000 square feet of space that houses all of the free resources needed to research your family history. MGC’s collections offer resources for genealogy research that span the United States and countries around the world. MGC also houses a uniquely expansive circulating collection and almost completely open stacks. You’ll find access to databases, scanning and digitization stations, oral history recording kits, microfilm reader scanners, and more. MGC is part of the Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL) system which has a long history of providing outstanding genealogy resources. In 1971, MCPL acquired a collection of Missouri county histories, and the "Missouri Room" was opened at the Independence Branch to accommodate patrons pursuing local historical information. By the mid-1970s, the North Independence Branch became the home of MCPL’s genealogy collection. This collection was moved to the lower level of the North Independence building in 1996 and became known as the Genealogy and Local History Branch. In June 2008, MGC opened at 3440 S. Lee's Summit Road in Independence, Missouri. MGC’s circulating collection is donation based and began with contributions from genealogy organizations such as American Family Records Association (AFRA), the Missouri State Genealogical Association (MoSGA), the Heart of America Genealogical Society (HAGS), and the Gann Historical Society & Library, Inc.