The Newberry Library's genealogy collection includes genealogies, local histories, and genealogical source material for throughout the United States with additional strengths in Canadian and British Isles resources. More details
Limited acquisition funds and the proliferation of published genealogical material combine to make it difficult for the Newberry to purchase everything that is relevant to the genealogy collection. Please consider donating your published genealogies, local histories, and genealogical indexes and abstracts to the Newberry Library. Researchers will be able to use your work along with the many other valuable genealogy resources already making up Newberry's strong genealogy collection.
With thousands of researchers using the Newberry each year either in person or through correspondence, your work will be brought to the attention of a wide audience. Your work also will be catalogd in our online catalog that researchers search on our Web site. Recent acquisition lists for the genealogy collection are posted in the genealogy section of the Web site and made available at the reference desk.
Researchers regularly ask how to purchase books in our collection that they find particularly useful to their research. A donation of your work to the Newberry library may increase sales.
The Newberry Library houses its collection in a state-of-the-art book stacks building. Temperature, humidity, and light are controlled in this building to maintain a book-friendly environment. For security reasons, access to the book stacks is limited to authorized library staff only. Security and preservation are further enhanced by the fact that the Newberry's collection is non-circulating so your publication will not leave the library. The Newberry also has a conservation department that maintains and repairs the collection. The Newberry's security and preservation efforts ensure that publications that you donate will be available for future generations of genealogists.
We will accept works in all kind of formats; however, certain formats make it easier to preserve the work in the future, and are preferred. For works of 50 pages or more, the library prefers to receive the works either professionally bound, or unbound. For smaller works, the library prefers them sewn or stapled through the fold, rather than in single sheets stapled on the left. We accept CD-ROMs, but prefer paper copies of family histories, if available.
Gift books for the Local and Family History collection can be donated in two ways.
Local and Family History
ATTN: Curator
Newberry Library
60 West Walton
Chicago, IL 60610
All donated collection materials (books, CDROMs, journals, etc.) will be checked against the current collection. Duplicates will be added to the collection only if a second reference copy is needed or if the copy currently in the collection is in poor condition. Duplicates are generally offered to other libraries with genealogy collections, sold at the Newberry Bookfair to raise money for the library, or, upon donor’s request, returned to the donor. Please let us know your wishes should your donation be duplicate.
Questions? Contact Jack Simpson, Curator of Local and Family History at simpsonj@newberry.org or by phone at 312.255.3671.