With support from the Irene B. Mischler Trust, Bloomington Public Library is able to offer its patrons access to the Fold3 genealogical database which provides access to digitized military records.
After her passing in June of 2015, Mischler left the trust to Bloomington Public Library in memory of her brother Charles H. Mischler. The funds are to be used for economics and history materials.
Bloomington Public Library has featured Fold3 in multiple hands-on workshops where patrons actively learned to use the database. One attendee was able to locate her father’s original World War II draft card and again see his signature. Another family learned of an ancestor who had been awarded medals for military service. These medals had been lost over the years, but through the program, they were guided in how to contact the National Archives to apply for replacements.