Who knew that researching your family history could start with spitting in a cup, popping it in the post and a few months later knowing almost everything you ever wanted to know about your origins?

Well, some of the specialist librarians that work at Tauranga City Libraries certainly do and they are a mine of information if you're wanting to get started on your family tree.

August is Family History month and Tauranga City Libraries is making it easy for people to get started by offering workshops and individual family history research assistance with the help of volunteer genealogists. The libraries also offer monthly drop-in genealogy clinics all year round, including guest speakers.

'It's such a popular service the volunteers now have to take bookings. They're very experienced and knowledgeable,” says learning centre tutor Bev Hodges.

'And very generous with their time,” says specialist information librarian Stephanie Smith.

A ‘lock-in' family history night at Papamoa Library last night was only designed to cater for 25 people but staff had to cut it off at 40, proving there is a real thirst for family history knowledge out there.

'It is a growing interest and it has become relatively cheaper for people to check their DNA, which is quite exciting. I don't think it's something that is going to go away,” says Stephanie.

Stephanie had her own DNA tested recently via the ancestry.com website. 'That was very interesting. It confirmed several bits of my family history I was quite sceptical about but they turned out to be true. The results were quite enlightening and let us not underestimate the entertainment value.”

The process of collecting the DNA was also quite entertaining.

'You have to get some spit and put it in a tube and mail it. At the other end is some poor person who has to deal with it,” she laughs.

The internet has certainly helped make family history research a little easier, say Bev and Stephanie, but there is still a lot of information that can only be found in the library.

'There are still a lot of resources not available online. We have the Births, Deaths and Marriage index for the whole of New Zealand that includes a historic database which is very useful for tracing ancestors 100 years ago or more,” says Stephanie.

The New Zealand reference collection of any library should never be underestimated in family history research, says Stephanie, and if your family hails from the Western Bay of Plenty, the Tauranga Library is a 'positive treasure trove.”

'We've got lots of local history, schools' history, histories of small towns and companies. If you have some idea of where people came from you can look up the local history of that town. You may not find them written about in there but at least you can have an idea of what their lives were like at that time.”

The library can also be used to access Nga Taonga, the New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound, which can turn up the odd family history gem.

Family history research can be time-consuming and there are many regular library patrons who have dedicated their lives to the search, says Bev.

'There is a certain gleam in the eye,” says Stephanie.

There are two approaches to family history research. One is tracking down every single person and adding their names and dates to the family tree, and the other is collecting stories.

One of the best way to collect these stories is to record them orally, which Bev has been doing with her own family following a reunion a few years ago.

'You quite often hear the same story in a different way from each person you talk to. The ideal thing is to do some research about what was happening in the country or their town at that time so you can pin them down a bit more. It's interesting to see that everyone sees a different side of the same story.”

While the majority of family history researchers are more mature, it does attract all ages and many schools now ask students to record their whakapapa (genealogy) which has generated more interest among young people.

'Many people say they wished they'd been interested enough to ask the questions while their grandparents were alive,” says Bev.

If you're interested in researching your family history Bev and Stephanie recommend attending one of the libraries' beginner classes that are held a few times a year, and bringing with you what you know about yourself, your parents and your grandparents.

'People think ‘it's so overwhelming, where do I start?' but if you start with yourself it makes it easy and you do know more than you think.”