The Reg Niles Searchbook for Adult Adoptees

The search for adoption records can quickly become a complicated and confusing research project, as the existence and availability of records often depends upon differing state laws and societal norms that continue to change over time. In the second edition of his Searchbook (the first was published in 1978), Niles has collected information about adoption resources and regulations for each state, and offers advice for navigating the complex world of adoption research. Niles, a long-time search consultant for the Adoptees' Liberty Movement Association (ALMA), begins with a 52-page question-and-answer section. He anticipates the kinds of queries adoptees commonly ask based on his experience of their information needs, and presents his answers in a first-person, interview-style format, frequently citing examples from past cases. Part Two, a listing of sources for the adoptee searcher organized alphabetically by U.S. state, Canadian province, and a handful of selected foreign countries, comprises the bulk of the overall content and fills most of both volumes. These lists contain contact information for state and local registrars, courts, libraries, adoption resource groups, and adoption agencies, and includes "notes to adoptees" with brief information pertaining to laws and access provisions of that place. Sources with more information for each state are also listed. Part Three details national adoption organizations and agencies, including contact information and brief information about each one, and the last section lists adoption-related titles and concludes with a guide to abbreviations and index of personal names referenced throughout both volumes.