Local studies collections - resources for local and family history

Local studies collections

Are you interested in researching your family tree or finding out more about your local area? Derby Local Studies and Family History Library is the place for you.

Derby Local Studies and Family History Library collects, preserves and provides public access to information on Derby and Derbyshire.  We act as Derby’s memory bank, retaining information about ‘old Derby’ as well as collecting current material for the future. The local studies collection is reference-only, but all are welcome to come and view materials, and in most cases digital or paper copies can be made for personal use.

History

The library has one of the UK's largest and oldest collections of printed and manuscript material relating to Derby and Derbyshire. The collection was originally formed from two outstanding private libraries. These specialised collections have been built on ever since and today we continue expanding on this wealth of local studies material, with the objective of representing all aspects of Derby and its communities.

Local Studies

If you would like to find out more about your house, street, suburb, village or community the library will have a wide range of resources that you may find useful. We have original building applications and plans, large scale mapping, photographs and engravings as well as written records such as Rate Books, statistical information, trades directories and general histories that can help you discover more about your locality.

Family History

The library also offers a wealth of resources for those interested in their family tree. We offer free access to popular subscription websites such as Ancestry and FindMyPast from our public PCs. These websites provide national records essential for the genealogist, such as the GRO index of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Census returns, Military records and much more. In addition the library holds local records of interest, such as Cemetery and Crematorium records, electoral registers 1843 – present, local newspapers and trade directories.  In addition the library’s extensive index of Derbyshire  names can often take you straight to the information you need.

How to access our resources

Our primary objective is to support you to undertake your own research. The vast majority of the collection is now on Derby Libraries online catalogue. You can search this from home to help plan your visit or to obtain the library reference number for a specific item.

Visiting in Person

To get the most from the library we suggest you visit in person. If you live, work or study in Derby all you need is your library card – if you are not a member you can join here. Visitors from further afield will need to bring ID showing name and address.

Library opening hours, location and other details for visitors can be found here on the Local Studies Libraries page.

Online access

If you are unable to visit, we are making more and more of our resources available online:

We also offer paid research services for remote customers with more specific enquiries. For details of how to take these up please visit our Derby Local Studies and Family History Library - Research Services page.

Are you proud of Derby and its heritage?

Would you like to take an active role in preserving and promoting Derby’s heritage? Come and share your interest and enthusiasm with like minded residents by joining Friends of Derby Local Studies and Family History Library. For more information about this group, you can contact Derby Local Studies Library on 01332 642240 or localstudies.library@derby.gov.uk 

Courses, Workshops and Events

We offer a range of friendly, informal courses and workshops for family historians. We also offer library tours and host talks and guided walks on a range of topics of local interest. Please check our events page for details of upcoming courses and events.

Schools

Bring your lessons to life with primary sources. The local studies collection has great potential to bring local relevance to many topics of study in the classroom. Perhaps the most obvious usage is for the history curriculum, but with such a varied collection of written documents, maps, statistical information and so on there is plenty of scope for finding innovative ways to support geography, literacy and numeracy. Download our free curriculum resources and find out how the Local Studies Library can support your school.

Get Involved

If you are interested in working with our libraries, please get in touch.

Donating your material

The Local Studies Library is not currently accepting new physical donations. To ensure your historical materials are preserved and accessible to the public, we recommend contacting the Derbyshire Record Office, which manages the primary archives for the county.

If you wish to contribute your own research in electronic format, please email us.

Volunteering

Derby Local Studies and Family History Library benefits greatly from volunteer support to help us complete vital ‘back-room’ tasks such as transferring our card catalogue records onto the library computer system, sorting and listing incoming donated materials or scanning and uploading items to our digital archive. Find out about our volunteering opportunities.