Research: Peoples, Groups, & Cultures: Jewish History Resources
Jewish History Resources
Public Libraries with Noteworthy Genealogical Collections and Services
Back to Non-governmental Historical Records Repositories
- Blauvelt Free Library
541 Western Highway
Blauvelt, NY 10913
(914) 359-2811
The library collects material related to the history of Blauvelt and Rockland County, N.Y. The collection includes the Rockland County History Collection, 1780-1988, 1908-1988 (bulk) containing pamphlets, articles, theses and research papers, brochures, travel guides, reports, exhibit catalogs, clippings, newsletters, maps, and other items pertaining to local history in Rockland County and vicinity. Subjects include the Jackson-White people of the Ramapo Mountains, the Hudson River, the American Revolution, Indians, the Bicentennial, the Jewish community, cemeteries, the Tappan Patent, parks and recreation, churches, schools, Rockland County authors, and historic restoration. The Library hours are Monday through Thursday 10:00-9:00, Friday 10:00-5:00, Saturday 11:00-5:00, Sunday 2:00-5:00.
- Brooklyn
Public Library
Brooklyn Collection, Central
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 230-2762
The Library maintains the Brooklyn Collections which includes manuscripts representing Brooklyn organizations and individuals as well as a large photograph collection of Brooklyn scenes and people. The library also holds a complete run of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1841-1955 on microfilm, city directories and biographical directories. The Library is open Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00-7:30, Wednesday 2:00-5:30, Friday 10:00-1:00, and Saturday 1:00-5:30. It is closed on Sunday and Monday.
- Buffalo
and Erie County Public Library
Lafayette Square
Buffalo, NY 14203
(716) 858-7114
The Special Collections Department maintains a significant genealogy collection which includes family histories, general and ethnic genealogical research manuals, indexes to passenger lists, surname dictionaries, local histories, military roster lists, heraldry and family crest dictionaries, directories to libraries, historical societies, genealogical organizations, and vital records offices. The Library is open Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8:30-6:00, Thursday 8:30-8:00, and Sunday 1:00-5:00 during the school year.
- Finkelstein Memorial Library
24 Chestnut Street
Spring Valley, NY 10977
(914) 352-5700
The library collects material related to the history of Spring Valley and Rockland County, N.Y. The collection includes photographs, maps, vertical file, and printed items on local history, miscellaneous manuscripts including autograph book, diary, and record book, and oral history tapes of Spring Valley residents, including a series on Jewish residents. The Library hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00-9:00, Friday 9:00-6:00, Saturday 10:00-5:00, Sunday 12:00-5:00. It is closed Sundays through mid-June and an appointment is required through Labor Day.
- Long Beach Public Library
111 West Park Avenue
Long Beach, NY 11561
(516) 432-7201
Material relating to the history of Long Beach, N.Y., including reports, brochures, booklets, histories, maps, architectural drawings, scrapbooks, election records, political memorabilia, guidebooks, calendars, and clippings. Topics include government and politics in the City of Long Beach, Jewish, Hispanic and other ethnic communities, housing, health care and adult residential care programs in the city, local residents including artists and writers, the local Arts Council, the League of Women Voters, architecture and real estate, and local schools. The Library is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9:00-9:00, Tuesday 11:00-9:00, Friday 9:00-6:00, Saturday 9:00-5:00, Sunday (Oct.-May) 1:00-5:00.
- Mount Vernon Public Library
28 South First Avenue
Mount Vernon, NY 10550
(914) 668-1840 ext. 32
The Library collects material related to the history of Mount Vernon, New York. The Library's Local History room maintains a genealogy collection as well as a local history file containing clippings, pamphlets, research notes and correspondence, programs, photographs, newsletters, maps, and other miscellaneous items. Subjects include streets, vandalism, village and city government, local authors, schools, industries, Mount Vernon Public Library, music politics, business, buildings, churches, organizations, crime, hospitals, military, World War I, and World War II. There are separate sections on black history, Italian history, Jewish history, and the development sections of Mount Vernon. Access is by Appointment only.
- New York Public Library. Jewish Division
Center for the Humanities
5th Ave. & 42nd St., Rm. 324
New York, NY 10018
(212) 930-0601
The Jewish Division of The New York Public Library collects material on the religious and secular history of the Jewish people. The collection includes books, manuscripts, periodicals and newspapers from around the world. The Division also holds the Oral History Library of the American Jewish Committee, which includes over 2000 memoirs both on tape and in transcription. The Jewish Division hours are Tuesday 11:00-7:30, Wednesday, 11:00-6:00, Thursday and Friday 10:00-6:00. It is closed Sunday and Monday.
- New York
Public Library. Milstein Division
5th Avenue & 42nd Street
New York, NY 10018
(212) 930-0828
The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy maintains one of the largest publically accessible genealogy collections in the country. The Division maintains genealogical guides and handbooks, as well as indexes to local, State, and federal records. The collection also includes newspapers and indexes, city and telephone directories, family histories, periodicals, and photographic collections. The Division is open Tuesday 11:00-7:30, Wednesday, 11:00-6:00 Thursday and Friday 10:00-6:00. It is closed Sunday and Monday.
- New York
Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
5th Avenue & 42nd Street
New York, NY 10018
(212) 930-0801
The Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library maintains the papers of individuals, families, and organizations, primarily from the New York region, dating from the 18th through the 20th centuries. The collections document important areas of U.S. political, economic and social history.
- Nyack Library
59 South Broadway
Nyack, NY 10960
(914) 358-3370
The Library collects material related to the History of Nyack and Rockland County, N.Y. and includes a local history vertical file, oral histories, maps, photographs, and miscellaneous items. The vertical file includes clippings, brochures, articles, manuscript and typescript articles, genealogies, lists, maps, booklets, newsletters, programs, and other items pertaining to Rockland County and the village of Nyack. Subjects include actors, aged, architecture, artists, biography, black Americans, business, cemeteries, churches, civil rights, Civil War, clubs, crime, education, farms and farming, genealogy, historic sites, Jewish community, libraries, politics and government, railroads, and women, as well as specific individuals and villages in Rockland County. The Library is open Wednesday 10:00-3:00, Thursday 7:00-9:00, Saturday 10:00-1:00.
- Port Chester Public Library
1 Haseco Avenue
Port Chester, NY 10573
(914) 939-6710 ext. 13 or 20
The collections concern the history of Port Chester and the Town of Rye and consists of two parts: a vertical file containing bulletins, clippings, newsletters, programs, booklets, histories, reports, and maps, 1951-1988, and shelves of pamphlets, typescript articles, theses, and genealogies. Subjects include education, minorities, government, churches, industries, housing, the Jewish Center, Afro-Americans in Westchester County, and historic houses. The Library hours are Monday 9:00-9:00, Tuesday through Saturday 9:00-5:00, July and August Closed Saturday.
- Queens Borough Public Library
89-11 Merrick Blvd.
Jamaica, NY 11432
(718) 990-0770
The Library collects material relating to the history and development of Queens, Kings, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties. Holdings include manuscripts, photographs, maps, and broadsides reflecting the history and development of Queens, Kings, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, with emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. The Library's genealogy collection includes Census material, city and telephone directories, passenger lists, newspapers and family genealogies. The Library hours are Monday and Friday 10:00-9:00, Tuesday through Thursday 10:00-6:00, Saturday 10:00-5:30. An appointment with librarian preferred.
- Rochester Public
Library. Local History and Genealogy Department
115 South Avenue
Rochester, NY 14604
(716)428-8370
The Local History and Genealogy Department has a collection of printed genealogies, county and town histories, both federal and Monroe County census, Rochester directories (1827-present), suburban directories (1932-present), maps, newspaper index (1818-1902), tombstone records, high-school yearbooks, scrapbooks and more. The Library is open Monday and Thursday, 9:00-9:00, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00-6:00, Saturday, 9:00-5:00. Contact Repository for specific summer hours.
- Scarsdale
Public Library
Post and Olmstead Roads
Scarsdale, NY 10583
(914) 722-1300
The Library's Local History Collection includes clippings, programs, brochures, letters, histories, genealogies, articles, notes, reports, newsletters, pamphlets, and other items pertaining to people, events, and history of Scarsdale. General subjects include government, politics, schools, local individuals, organizations, the Scarsdale Public Library, churches, and synagogues. Other items of note include letters, contracts, real estate appraisals, and clippings on historic houses in Scarsdale, and transcripts of oral history interviews. The Library's hours are Monday through Wednesday 10:00-9:00, Thursday 10:00-6:00, Friday and Saturday 9:00-5:00, Sunday 12:00-6:00. Contact the Library for summer hours.
- Steele Memorial Library
East Church Street
Elmira, NY 14901
(607) 733-8602
The Library's extensive genealogical collection includes New York State county histories, local newspapers, 1835-present, copies of New York State and Federal censuses, cemetery indexes, local history and news files, city directories and military histories, New York and Pennsylvania mortality schedules, 1850-1880. The Library is open Monday through Thursday 9:00-9:00, Friday and Saturday 9:00-5:00, Sunday 1:00-5:00. It is closed Saturday and Sunday May 30-September 30.
