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Established in 1884 this is the largest collection of local and family history material in the North East. We also collect current local material and index articles from newspapers about local people, places and events. Everyone is welcome to visit us and look at any of the collection but, as many items are rare or irreplaceable most of the collection is not on public display. To see anything just make your selection from our catalogues or ask a member of staff.
With the building of the new City Library the opportunity arose to display some of the treasures which belong to the people of Newcastle, reflecting their proud cultural history. The new building has facilities for storing and displaying items from the special collections in environmentally controlled conditions and a two-year Heritage Lottery Funded project provided the means to conserve and promote some of this unique material.
The Newcastle Collection can be found on display on the sixth floor of the City Library in Newcastle upon Tyne. View our Newcastle Collection leaflet for more information or visit the Newcastle Collection website.
Over 6,500 images comprising the Tyneside Life and Times Collection are online on Flickr. View images in categories such as shipping, monuments, armed forces and transport. Help us to identify unknown locations and people or simply add our images to your favourites.
The Local Studies photograph collection consists of 80,000 photographs, prints and postcards representing the social, recreational and working lives of the region from the birth of photography in the 1850’s, to the present day. You can view the collection at City Library.
The West Newcastle Picture History Collection is based in West End Library and is accessible to all. There are around 17,000 images and maps of the West End, mainly of Benwell, Elswick and Scotswood. The collection includes a large selection of images by Jimmy Forsyth but also covers other west end wards in detail. It is open, on request to library staff, every day apart from Sunday for unaided research however volunteers are present to help enquirers on Mondays between 9am and 12noon.
Phone: 0191 2774100
Email: information@newcastle.gov.uk
Address: City Library, Charles Avison Building, 33 New Bridge St. West, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AX
Monday 8:30am – 8pm
Tuesday 8:30am – 8pm
Wednesday 8:30am – 8pm
Thursday 8:30am – 8pm
Friday 8:30am – 5:30pm
Saturday 8:30am – 5:30pm
Sunday 11am – 5pm
We now have an annual subscription to the Gale/Cengage database of 19th Century Newspapers. There is access to it via every People’s Network computer in the service. There is also a facility for remote access at home if you have a Newcastle library ticket. Please enter your ticket number where prompted to gain access. The database includes three northern titles; The Newcastle Courant (Daily and Weekly), The Northern Liberator and the Northern Echo. It also includes a wide range of regional and some national titles, for example, The Illustrated Police News. If you are interested in family history or general historical research we think you will find this database useful and easy to use.
Ancestry Library Edition is a research tool offering the most comprehensive genealogical information available online. It has more than 4 billion names in over 4000 collections. Access to historical records such as Census Returns, Birth Marriage and Death Indexes, Passenger Lists, Military Records and much more. There are no passwords to remember and shortcuts can be found on the desktop of People's Network PCs.
We now have access to the Library Edition of Ancestry through our People's Network computers at every library.
The Newcastle Local Studies and Family History Centre holds a large amount of unique and valuable material relating to the North East of England. If you do not live locally, and are unable to visit us, we will search through some of this material on your behalf. Some of our more straight forward searches are free of charge (see below), although there may be a small payment for photocopying and postage. You can also get help with more complex enquiries through our research service.
If you would like to use this service you will need to fill in the application form and send us details of the research you require. Our staff will then undertake a search on your behalf. You will receive the answer to your enquiry in writing. We can’t undertake very general research such as ‘the history of Newcastle upon Tyne’. We are also unable to undertake extensive family history projects, although we may be able to provide you with details of the resources that are available. You can consult an independent researcher to undertake family history research on your behalf (contact us for a list).
The research service costs £20.00 per hour for individuals and £30.00 an hour for commercial companies.
You can set a limit on the amount of research you would like us to complete on your behalf. The minimum time is one hour and the maximum is two. Payment is required in advance; please see our application form for details.
Although we will make every effort to find some information for you, if we are unable to do this the charge will still be implemented. This is because our staff will have spent time looking for the information. If we know that we don’t hold the information you require or feel that your request is too general for us to undertake, we will notify you and refund the payment. If we feel that your enquiry doesn’t qualify has research but can be undertaken as a general enquiry, we will notify you and refund the payment.
Please print off and complete the relevant form below depending on whether the research is to be completed on behalf of an individual or a company. Alternatively forms are available by ringing 0191 2774100:
Order form for an individual (PDF, opens in new window)
Order form for commercial research (PDF, opens in new window)