Historic Courthouse - 100 East Main Street, Bartow, FL 3830 Telephone:
(863) 534-4380, Hours: 9:00 am -5:00 pm Tue-Sat
closed-Monday's - Visiting the Library About the Library
With a geographic emphasis on Florida, the southeast region, original thirteen
colonies and all other states bordering on the Mississippi River, the collection
includes numerous magazines and journals as well as extensive Federal census
and Soundex holdings. It also covers a wide range of topics including how-to
guides, county and local histories and indexes of records such as marriage,
death, cemetery, probate, military, pension and passenger arrival.
Florida Southern College Citrus Archives, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive,
Lakeland, FL 33801-5698, (863) 680-4583.
On 1 July 2001, the State of Florida declared this collection to be the
official archives of the Florida citrus industry. The purpose of the Thomas
B Mack FL Citrus Archives is to gather, collect, procure, accept and properly
prepare for storage, historical data, writings and publications, printed materials,
books and periodicals, pictures and photographs, maps, and various other
manner of citrus memorabilia of significance.
Serves as a research library and cultural center for scholars, students
and the general public, and contains more than 75,000 books, documents, artifacts
and related materials that focus on the experiences of people of African
descent. Local history is a cornerstone of the available resources. The auditorium
and exhibit areas provide a forum to exchange ideas and cultural values,
and to promote an understanding and appreciation of the contributions of
persons of African descent. The 60,000 square foot library opened on October
26, 2002.
500 S. Bronough Street, R.A. Gray Building, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250,
(850) 245-6600 Hours: 8:00 am-5:00 pm Mon through Fri 9:30 am to 3:30 pm Sat
(excluding holiday weekends)
The Archives maintains a collection of nearly 40,000 cubic feet of records
of state and local government, as well as papers of private individuals,
families, businesses, and organizations. It also administers the Florida
Photographic Collection of approximately 800,000 images and a Genealogical
Collection of more than 10,000 books, 200 CD's, and 15,000 microfilm rolls.
The Holocaust Memorial Center Library has a collection of over 5,000 volumes
and over 500 videotapes. Holocaust books are in the majority; related subjects
include Anti-Semitism and racism, Jewish - Christian relations, Jewish history
and more. A Juvenile section is included. A vertical file is available for
the use of students and researchers. Oral histories of Holocaust survivors
and liberators are included in the video collection. In the archival collection
are Yiskor (memorial) books and numerous artifacts from the Holocaust donated
to the Holocaust Memorial Center. Reference shelves include Holocaust Encyclopedias,
volumes of documentary material from Yad Vashem, Art books and rare volumes.
65 East Central Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32801. Phone: (407) 836-8500, Toll
Free: (800) 965-2030
Hours: Mon - Sat 10 am - 5 pm; Sun - Noon - 5 pm Open Daily except Thanksgiving,
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Admission:
$7.00 Adult; $6.50 Seniors (60+) and Students; $3.50 Children (3-12); Free
Children under age 3. Located in downtown Orlando, one block west of the
Orange County Public Library.
101 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, FL 32801, (407) 835-7323
It has one of the finest genealogical collections in the Southeast. The
collection was started in 1923. In 1929, the Library became the official repository
of the Florida State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The genealogy collection contains more than 25,000 books and bound periodicals,
10,000 microfiche and over 15,000 reels of microfilm. They have the complete
federal census from 1790-1930 on microfilm, Passenger List indices for Baltimore,
Boston, Galveston, New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia and special collections
such as Barbour (CT), Boston Transcripts, Massachusetts Indexes to births,
marriage and death (1841-1895), Draper Manuscripts (southern states), Grandparent
Papers of Florida, and the American Slave.
This Library has grown since this page was made-
A complete collection of the U.S. Census for all states and for all available
years is housed in this extensive reference department. Other important
microfilm holdings include the U.S. City Directories covering major cities
from 1860 through 1935, & immigration lists. The book collection emphasizes
the Eastern and Atlantic States.
The Research Library of the St. Augustine Historical Society. A major source
for St. Augustine and Florida history, it contains more than 8,500 books,
documents, manuscripts, and historical papers available for research.
The Florida Collection, housed in the Dorothy Dodd Room, is one of
the most comprehensive collections of Floridiana. It includes materials
covering all aspects of Florida's past, present and future. Books, manuscripts,
maps, memorabilia and periodicals are just some of the 60,000 items to be
found in the collection.
P. O. Box 117007, Gainesville, FL 32611-7001 (352) 392-9075, ext. 306
Library hours are too extensive to print here, but can be found at their
web site. They have a very unusual collection of British documents including
“parish registers.” They have many volumes of the state archive series for
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. Also, allow some time for their
Special and Area Studies Collections. The P.K. Yonge Florida history collection
is one of the best in Florida.
Open from 8 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri and is located on the 5th Floor of the Library,
Room 501. (407) 823-2576, Email: speccoll@mail.ucf.edu.West Indies Collection
has over 1,800 books and periodicals on the history, geography, economy,
and social life of the West Indies and the Caribbean area. Thomas & Georginne
Mickler collection contains books, pamphlets, maps, diaries, photographs
and ephemera covering many topics related to Florida’s history and development.
Other UCF sources include: Draper manuscript collection on microfilm, U.S.
Serial Set 1789- Pres., Index of Patents, 1842-Pres., Florida Sanborne Fire
Insurance Maps, African American Biographical Database, Index to Early American
Periodicals (1741-1935). More information: http://library.ucf.edu/GovDocs/genealogy.htm
511 West South Street, Orlando, FL 32805 Mon to Fri 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Office: (407) 245-7535
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Wells’ Built Museum
opened in December 2000. Doctor William M. Wells, one of Orlando’s early
African American physicians, constructed the building, formerly the Wells’
Built Hotel, in 1929.
