Naperville - Have you ever wanted to look among the branches of your family tree, but didn't know where to begin? Do you live in a historic house you'd like to know more about? Naper Settlement's Research Library, located at 523 S. Webster St., Naperville, has a wealth of information and is expanding its hours in 2007.

Beginning Jan. 6, the Research Library will be open the first Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The five weekend hours per month are in addition to the weekly hours available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays. Although appointments for Thursday and Saturday are not needed, appointments can and will be made to accommodate researchers throughout the week.

The expanded hours allows access to a collection that contains over 500 reference volumes, more than 3,000 general history and family files, and over 5,000 images. Bound cemetery, census, birth, death and marriage records for DuPage County are available in addition to Internet access and genealogical Web sites. 

Research Associate Bryan Ogg will be available to assist library users and can suggest materials that will be helpful in their research. Research assistance is free. Photocopies are 10 cents and image reproduction fees vary according to usage.

"The historic archives contain many hundreds of "feet" of primary source material relating to the families and history of Naperville including maps, ledgers, journals, diaries, family bibles and more," Ogg said.

For more information, contact Ogg at (630) 305-3535 or oggb@naperville.il.us.

The past comes to life at Naper Settlement, the only outdoor history museum in Illinois accredited by the American Association of Museums. Located in the heart of downtown Naperville, Naper Settlement is open year round. For more information, call (630) 420-6010, the Event Hotline at (630) 305-5555 or visit www.napersettlement.museum.