A HELPING hand is to be given to people who want to delve into their family history by Durham's new library.

The flagship Durham Clayport Library - part of the Millennium City complex in Claypath - has been inundated in the two months since it opened by people wanting to make a start on tracing their roots.

The library holds a large database of births, marriages and deaths that has prompted a lot of interest.

To make family historians' task easier the library is launching a series of talks on how to start the research.

"We now have the GRO Index, or the St Catherine's House Index as it's more commonly known, and this has encouraged many more people to come to the library," said library spokeswoman Anita Thompson.

"The index lists births, marriages and deaths from 1837 to 1999 for England and Wales.

"Many people are unsure how to go about compiling their family history, so we decided to hold a series of starting out talks to raise awareness of the resource held locally for studying family and local history."

The first talk will be an introduction to the index by local historian David Butler.

It will be held in the library on Saturday, May 25, at 2pm. Tickets cost £1.50 and are available from the library or by calling 0191-386 4003.