The new Library at the York County History Center will be open for research Tuesday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. beginning on Tuesday July 9, 2024! Library admission is $12 a day, $10 for seniors. Members of the History Center and students are free.
Reservations are now being accepted! To ensure space is available in the Library reading room, reservations will be required.
New!
- You now have the option to reserve a library computer when you make your library reservation. Computers are limited, so we encourage you to bring a personal laptop. Personal devices will be able to access library subscriptions for Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and FamilySearch.org. Library tables are now electrified. Good Wifi coverage extends through our new building.
- A private study room is now available for parties of 2 to 5 people. Please contact us to reserve the study room.
For directions and parking information, please see Plan Your Visit.
To discuss your visit or if you need to cancel your reservation, please contact Director Adam Bentz at abentz@yorkhistorycenter.org or 717-848-1587 x223.
Paid research services and donations to the Library & Archives will resume in August 2024. Donations are by appointment only—please, no drop-ins.
For information on volunteering, please visit Volunteer Opportunities.
Before Your Visit:
In the Library & Archives we offer personalized service. Our staff and volunteers are eager to assist you with your family and local history research. Your gracious cooperation with the Library Rules & Policies will help us protect our collections for many, many generations to come.
- Please check in at Visitor Services upon arrival and be prepared to show your email confirmation as proof of purchase (showing the email on your device is sufficient).
- First-time visitors should contact us (abentz@yorkhistorycenter.org) so that we can assist you with planning your Library visit.
- We have lockers for you to secure your belongings. Bags, purses, luggage, pens, personal scanners, food, and drink are not permitted in the Library.
- We allow pencils, papers, notebooks, and folders. Pencils and scrap paper are provided.
- Personal laptops are encouraged. Computers are also available for use by reservation. Thumb drives are available for purchase. Outside thumb drives are not allowed.
- Cell phone photography of books and documents is allowed. Photocopies are available for a small fee.
- We encourage you to contact us before your visit with your research topic so we can confirm accessibility and pull archival files for you before your visit. Files will be pulled first come, first served for all others.
Online Resources
We would like to hear from you about what online resources you would like to see from the History Center. Please take a minute to fill out this short online Digital Resources Survey.
This website has a number of online resources including Online Research Request ordering, genealogy and property research resources and collections databases. To access these resources, see EXPLORE on the main menu or click a link below.
Genealogy Resources and South Central Pennsylvania Genealogy Society
Property Research and Hively Land Records books and maps
Library & Archives News:
The York County History Center is now a FamilySearch affiliate research center
This agreement allows members and visitors to the Library & Archives greater access to genealogy resources on the FamilySearch.org website. For more information, please visit https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/familysearch-affiliate-libraries/.
African American Collections
There is a new regularly-updated guide to African American collections at the History Center on this website. See Special Collections and Finding Aids.
In our Reading Room, we offer extensive collections of family genealogies; books on local, state and regional history, with a focus on York County history; York City and County directories; York County high school yearbooks; historical atlases and maps; and local and regional periodicals and newsletters covering a wide range of topics. The York County History Center’s Library & Archives is also one of the only repositories in Pennsylvania that offers the two major York newspapers and their predecessors on microfilm. For more information about the York County History Center’s holdings, please see our list of the Library & Archives Resources.
All library users, whether members or not, have on-site access to the Library Edition of Ancestry.com. Included with this subscription is Fold3 and Newspapers.com/Pennsylvania Edition. Fold3 provides access to US military records and Newspapers.com/Pennsylvania edition provides access to the growing number of digitized newspapers.
We annually host visitors from all 50 states across the country, as well as several other countries. Visitors receive assistance in using the collection from well-trained staff and volunteers.
