Lincoln Library

United States Illinois  Sangamon  Archives and Libraries 

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Contact Information
E-mail: Ask a Librarian form.

Address:


 * 326 S. 7th St. Springfield, IL 62701

Telephone: 217-753-4900. Fax:  217-753-4905.

Hours: Mon-Wed 10am-8pm; Thu-Fri 10am-6pm; Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 1-5pm (Oct-Apr). Holidays. Note: The Sangamon Valley Collection  closes at 1 p.m. on Fridays.

Map, directions, and public transportation


 * Map: 


 * Directions:
 * from the north


 * Public transportation: 

Internet sites and databases:


 * Lincoln Library catalog, what's new, about us, how do I . . ., events, kids, teens, readers, research, community.
 * Lincoln Library Catalog online by keyword, author, title, subject, or series. Also available in WorldCat.
 * Sangamon Valley Collection hours, items available, digital collections, manuscripts, films, Internet resources, and databases.

Collection Description
The Lincoln Library is the public library of Springfield, Illinois.

They have indexed obituaries from the Illinois State Journal from 1861-1934 and 1959 to now. All Springfield city directories are here. The Sangamon Valley Collection has resources (photos, directories, yearbooks, histories, maps) for studying Sangamon and nearby counties.

They have an index to their manuscript collection. Microfilms include many area newspapers, Illinois censuses, genealogies, city directores, scrapbooks, genealogical society publications, Illinois Sanborn fire insurance maps, and organization minutes. Internet resources include Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library genealogy resources, the Illinois Newspaper Project, Lithuanians in Springfield, and Oak Ridge Cemetery records, and subscription web sites like America's Newspapers, America's Obituaries, Heritage Quest, the State Journal-Register, and Ancestry.com.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees.
 * Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, premier periodical collection, including Midwestern genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, and passenger lists.
 * National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago) old federal court and agency records for Illinois and Midwest U.S. federal censuses 1790–1940; military service and pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, Fold3.
 * Newberry Library, Chicago, a large repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.

Similar Collections


 * Arlington Heights Memorial Library a huge collection, with printed genealogies, manuscripts, periodicals, newspapers, special aids, surname folders—a great overall genealogy collection.
 * Chicago Public Library reference books, how-to-guides, histories, biographies.
 * Lincoln Library, Springfield, indexed obituaries, city directories, the Sangamon Valley Collection  has photos, yearbooks, histories, and maps for studying Sangamon and surrounding counties.
 * Peoria Public Library enjoys a large genealogy and local history department, including many indexes, DAR files, and basic genealogy resources for the plains states.
 * Urbana Free Library their strength is Champaign County history, but they have good basic genealogy for the entire United States including printed genealogies, manuscripts, family folders.

Neighboring Collections


 * Peoria County Clerk births, marriages, and deaths online
 * Peoria County Clerk of the Circuit Court recent probates, civil, criminal records.
 * Peoria County Recorder of Deeds land records, military discharge DD-214s.
 * Peoria County Coroner suspicious or unusual deaths.
 * U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois recent civil and criminal court records.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties:  Fulton, Knox, Marshall, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford.
 * Illinois Dept. of Health Vital Records, Springfield, birth, marriage, death, adoption, and divorces.
 * Illinois State Archives, Springfield, county/state records, pre-Chicago fire sources, indexed vital records, early land grants, military records, all fed/state censuses, surname card index.
 * Illinois State Library, Springfield, state/federal records, federal censuses to 1920, plat books, IL county histories, Sanborn fire insurance maps, Rev. War pensions and bounty land warrants.
 * Illinois State Genealogical Society, Springfield, research guidance, teaching via webinars and the ISGS blog for free, death certificates 1916-1947 for a fee. No research requests.
 * Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD), Springfield, HQ of 7 regional archives of local Illinois county/town records: birth, marriage, death, land, tax, voting reg., probate, naturalization, civil criminal court, coroner, poorhouse. For Peoria County see IRAD-Western Illinois University.
 * Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, genealogy, plat maps, atlases, oral and county history, cemeteries, census, vital records, naturalizations in many counties.
 * Chicago History Museum 20 million manuscripts, letters, certificates, diaries, genealogy charts, log books, journals, memoirs, minutes, muster rolls, scrapbooks, sermons, speeches, and telegrams.
 * Chicago Title and Trust  for a fee they will search property records prior to the Chicago fire.
 * John A. Logan College Library, Carterville, this library is a focal point of Southern Illinois genealogy. Their collection is huge.
 * Pritzker Military Museum and Library, Chicago, 45,000 military history books, unit histories, photos, uniforms, equipment, insignia, and ships of many world militaries. They help genealogists.
 * South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society, Hazel Crest, a very good collection with local histories, genealogies, naturalizations, Pullman Car Works personnel, obituaries, church histories.
 * Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Lovejoy Library best library in southern IL with a large genealogical collection of newspapers, biographies, county histories, family folders, and maps.
 * Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Rock Island, IL, Swedish church records, census, passenger lists, lodges, newspapers, directories.
 * University of Chicago Library plentiful historical records, including Durrett Collection  of historical Kentucky and Ohio River Valley manuscripts of early people in the Ohio Valley.
 * University of Illinois at Chicago, biography, periodicals, newspapers, oral history, ethnic studies.
 * University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Main Library one of the best book collections in America, including county histories, and farmers registers. Think of it as another archives for Illinois.
 * Asher Library, Chicago, Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies 500,000 books, and films.
 * Brethren Historical Library and Archives, Elgin, IL, cultural, socio-economic, theological, genealogical, and institutional history of the Brethren.
 * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives, Elk Grove Village, IL, serves historians, congregations, synods, genealogists and others interested in Lutheran history.
 * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Archives parish records, priest biographies, sacramental, school, or orphanage records.
 * Repositories in surrounding states:  Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin
 * National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO, military and civil services personnel records. For servicemen and servicewomen discharged from 1912 to 1953.
 * Polish Genealogical Society of America, Milwaukee, WI, 60,000 books on Polish history, art, culture, reference.