All Richmond Public Library locations will be closed February 17th for Presidents' Day.

Local History and Genealogy

The Richmond Room (Main Library, 1st floor) houses Richmond Public Library’s local history and genealogy collections and resources. Materials are focused on the greater Richmond area, though our collections span the state of Virginia. Most Richmond Room materials are available to browse anytime the Main Library is open. Appointments are encouraged for those with specific research questions and those requesting access to restricted and fragile materials. Contact us to make a research appointment or to learn more about our resources.

Physical Collections

  • A large collection of published materials on Richmond and Virginia history
  • City and suburban directories (1819 to present)
  • Yearbooks from local elementary, middle, high schools, and universities
  • Local newspapers and periodicals (including Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond News Leader, Richmond Afro-American and Richmond Planet)
  • Over 1,500 files of local ephemera
  • City Archives including maps, reports from City of Richmond departments, and City ordinance and resolution books
  • Richmond-area phone books
  • Historic records of local organizations including the Virginia Mechanics’ Institute, Richmond Education Association, and Rosemary Library

Visit Richmond Public Library’s Special Collections page for additional information.

Digital Collections

Richmond Public Library’s Digital Special Collections includes a mix of library-owned materials and materials shared by the public. If you find something in our digital collections that interests you, it is possible we have additional, non-digital materials that may be of interest. Our Digital Special Collections are continuously growing as new materials are added.

Virginia Yearbooks Digital Collection

This ongoing project from Library of Virginia seeks to make available Virginia public high school yearbooks via Internet Archive. Richmond Public Library has partnered with Library of Virginia to add yearbooks from our collection. You can view the digitized yearbooks on Library of Virginia’s Internet Archive page.

Research

Richmond Public Library subscribes to several online databases that may be helpful in your local history and genealogy research. Physical collections can be accessed for research purposes in the Richmond Room and dedicated computers are available for online research and database access. Research assistance requests can be directed to (804) 646-0117 or RichmondRoom@rva.gov. All physical collections are non-circulating and must be used within the library, but scans and photography of materials is encouraged.

African American Heritage Quest from ProQuest

Genealogy tools specifically for African Americans. Enter your 13-digit library card number and start discovering today.

access acestry.com at your local library

Billions of genealogical sources. Access: in-library use only.

document bank of Virginia logo

Document Bank of Virginia (DBVa) is the Library of Virginia’s initiative to provide primary sources to teachers and classrooms.

Heritage Hub Obituaries, Death Notices, and News Articles

Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 – today.

newsbank logo

Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch and other US daily newspapers. Database includes RTD archives.

Virginia Chronicle from Library of Virginia

Virginia Chronicle is a historical archive of Virginia newspapers, providing free access to full text searching and digitized images of over 4 million newspaper pages.

Memory Lab


For more information about personal history projects and Richmond Public Library’s resources for digitization, visit the Memory Lab. In the Memory Lab, you can digitize home media, learn more about preserving personal collections, and work on oral history projects.

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