Discovering and Accessing Unique/Archival Local and SUNY-Geneseo History Materials
The Library's Special Collections are rich in primary source materials, including manuscript items and other unique materials. Explore the tabs above to discover ways to find these resources, plus those available elsewhere. Please contact the Special Collections Librarian for research assistance.
County, Town, and Village Historians and Historical Societies
This guide includes resources available at historical agencies most relevant to Geneseo, but all New York State counties have official historians, and most have historical societies as well. The Association of Public Historians of NYS list of county, town and village historians will lead you to the historian/collection you need. The list is arranged numerically by region -- local counties are in Regions 11 and 12.
- Livingston County HistorianThe Historian's Office maintains an vast and well-organized collection of photographs, some of which are available online (see above).
Regional and New York State Resources
- Rochester Public Library Digital CollectionsIncludes digitized manuscripts, civil records, scrapbooks, newspapers, and much more.
- University of Rochester Digital CollectionsSee also the collections listed under "Digital Projects" at the UR Libraries' Exhibitions, Projects, and Publications page (https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/175).
See also the collections listed under "Digital Projects" at the UR Libraries' Exhibitions, Projects, and Publications page (https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/175).
- The Digital Collections: A Gateway to the Collections Held by the NYS Archives, Museum, and LibraryAccess photographs, textual materials, artifacts, government documents, manuscripts, and other materials relating to New York State's rich history.
- Historical Documents Inventory This link opens in a new windowThe Historical Documents Inventory (HDI) contains more than 23,000 catalog records for archives and manuscripts collections housed locally at repositories throughout New York State (libraries, historical societies, and other organizations with established archives), excluding the holdings of the State Library and the State Archives.
- Guide to Local History and Archives Collections in the Genesee ValleyProfiles of local history collections held by libraries, historical societies, churches and other archives in the Rochester region, produced by the Rochester Regional Library Council (RRLC). Last updated in June 2006, some information (e.g., urls) may be outdated, but overall still a useful resource.
- Iroquois Indians: A Documentary History(Also available at the University of Rochester's Rush Rhees Library, and other libraries in the region.) Contains ”8812 reproductions of records from the 1600s to the 1920s, compiled by the D’Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian at the Newberry Library.” The documents are contained on 50 microfilm reels, arranged chronologically, and the accompanying print index (E99 .I7 I68 1984) is shelved in the Library. Contact the Special Collections librarian to access the film or the index.
Other Resources
- American MemoryProvides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
- Digital Public Library of AmericaDPLA includes millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available to all in a one-stop discovery experience.
For a broader, more complete list of primary source digital collections, go to the History LibGuide page Finding Primary Sources Online.
Special Collections Librarian
Maps
While not an exhaustive list, the resources below provide thousands of digital maps, including many of local historical interest.
- Archival MapsHistorical maps from many different regions and time periods. Most of these maps have been scanned from the archives of the Library of Congress.
See also the Library's Maps Research Guide for more information and links.
