Genealogical Research in Government Documents: WPA Historical Records Survey

For genealogists considering research at the National Archives, ask at your local depository library about the WPA Historical Records Surveys, Federal Series.  These books, compiled in the 1930s-1940s by the Work Projects Administration, described in detail federal record collections that were being housed in district offices in states at that time.  Use the Historical Records Surveys to identify specific record sets, then ask for those record sets at the National Archives' Washington DC, College Park MD or National Archives branches in the states.