Genealogical researchers may find the following collections helpful:

Sacramental Records.

Research for genealogical purposes, is confined to records prior to December 31, 1915. If a person is looking for his/her own records, the Archives staff will search any time period. Pre-1916 records are available for research on microfilm. Only records of closed parishes (complete list available upon request) are held by the Archives. All open parishes keep their own records. The only exception to this are Old St. Mary’s and St. Elizabeth’s, whose earliest books are now at the Archives.

Orphanage Records

Access to these records is restricted. Only the person included in the record can request and receive information from his or her records. The only information that can be released is from sacramental, school and health records, pursuant to the policies (copies upon request) set forth by the Archives with regard to these types of records. No one else is entitled to this information, except with written consent of the individual named in the records.  All requests for these records must be made in writing.  The requestor will not have access to the original records.

School Records

The records for approximately 250 closed Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago are located at the Archives. Access to these records is restricted. Researchers are not entitled to the complete school record. Under provisions of federal law and Archdiocesan policy, they are only allowed "Directory Information". This includes: name and address, telephone number, birthday, birthplace, major field of study, participation in school activities, weigh and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, awards received, previous schools attended, the student’s photograph, and the parish in which the student resides. This information is taken from the student’s record at the time the student attended the school. Current information is not available from the Archives under any circumstances. There is a $10.00 fee per name for this service.  

Deceased Priest Files (Restricted Collection)

The personnel files of deceased diocesan priests are kept by the Archives. Access to these records is restricted. Generally, only biographical information may be released to researchers.

Western Tablet, The New Word and the Chicago Catholic

The collection consists of the Archdiocese’s Catholic newspaper on microfilm and microfiche. Its use is not restricted. There is also a collection of photographs that were published in The New World. Copies of photographs from this collection are available for the cost of the reproduction and negative, if  the Archives has copyright to it. There are also obituaries for priests and other religious.

Parish Commemorative Books

The collection contains books commissioned by parishes in commemoration of significant events in a parish’s history (building dedications, anniversaries, etc.). They range from pictures and advertisements to detailed histories of the parishes. Some books mention early and/or important parishioners in their history.

Other Collections and Records

Other collections and records kept by the Archives include Chancery Correspondence; Papers of Cardinals Mundelein, Stritch, Meyer, Cody and Bernardin; church financial reports may have privacy or canonical restriction.

Bochar, Jack. Locations of Chicago Roman Catholic Churches, 1850-1900. Geneva IL. :
    Bochar Jack, 1990.

Culligan, Joseph J. You, Too, Can Find Anybody. A Reference Manual. Miami, Fl.:
    Hallmak Press, Incorporated, 1991.

Eichholz, Alice. Ancestry’s Red Book. American State, County, and Town Resources. Salt
    Lake City, UT,: Ancestry Publishing, 1992.

Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives. Washington D.C.: National
    Archives and Records Administration, 1982.

Humling, Virginia. U.S. Catholic Sources: A Diocesan Research Guide. Salt Lake City,
    UT,: Ancestry, 1998.

Illinois Libraries, Vol. 68, Number 4 (April 1986), Special Issue: Genealogical Collections
    in Illinois.

Illinois Libraries, Vol. 69, Number 8 (October 1987), Special Issue: Archival
    Developments in Illinois, 1981-1987.

Meyerink, Kory. Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records. Salt Lake
    City, UT, : Ancestry, 1998.

Neagles, James C. The Library of Congress: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical
    Research. Salt Lake City, UT,: Ancestry, 1990.

Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Revised edition. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Incorporeted, 1997.

Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Smith Juliana. The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book: A Comprehensive List of Local, State, and Federal Agencies and Institutions and Ethnic and Genealogical The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book: A Comprehensive List of Local, State, and Federal Agencies and Institutions and Ethnic and Genealogical Organizations. Organizations.
    Salt Lake City, UT,:  Ancestry, 1998.

The Ancestry Genealogy Library.
http://www.ancestry.com

The author’s web site, Cindy’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet.
http://www.CyndisList.com/linkto.htm

National Archives and Records Administration – Guide to Naturalization Records.
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/natural.html

The Library of Congress, History and Genealogy Division
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/

Discussion of Slavic and, more generally, Eastern European, genealogy. Messages are occasionally written in Czech, Polish, Russian, etc.
http://searches.rootsweb.com/gen-slavic.html

Get a Certified Genealogist from the Board for Certification of Genealogists. 
http://www.bcgcertification.org