‘I Couldn’t Have Done It Alone’: Library Resources Help Turn Hobby Into a Career Local historian and educator Gaynell Brady credits much of her success as a genealogist to the New Orleans and Jefferson Parish public library systems, calling them “the perfect resource” for professionals and novices alike. “Genealogy is an expensive hobby, but the Library makes it accessible for everybody,” she said. “And that is a huge blessing.”  Brady became interested in genealogy in 2007 after creating an Ancestry.com account to build her family tree as a way of healing from the pain of Hurricane Katrina.  “I’ve always been that kid that asks a lot of questions about where my family came from; tough questions,” she said. “I was always curious, and I just wanted to know where I came from. And then especially when I became a mom, I really wanted to know. Not just for me, but