The Core Library Solihull





Contact Information
Email: [mailto:heritage@solihull.gov.uk heritage@solihull.gov.uk] Website: The Core Library on Solihull Council website Facebook: The Core Library on Facebook Address:

Homer Road,

Solihull

West Midlands

B91 3RG Telephone: 0121 704 6977 Hours of Operation: Subject to change owing to Covid-19 restrictions. See website for up-to-date details.  Directions/Parking Map:

Directions (Google Maps)

Town centre car parks

Description of Collections
Solihull Heritage & Local Studies Service at The Core Library is the Borough's memory bank and collects local history resources relating to all of the places within the present Solihull Metropolitan Borough and within the former Solihull Rural District.

An online catalogue is available, although this is not yet a complete listing of all of the archives and local studies collections so please email [mailto:heritage@solihull.gov.uk heritage@solihull.gov.uk] if you are looking for anything in particular and can't find it listed.

As a Family Search Affiliate Library, The Core Library has a number of Family Search microfilms available for reference, including the largest collection of Caribbean microfilms in the UK outside London. Further details about Caribbean family history research and the main records available from within Solihull are on Solihull Council's website.

Services
The Core Library and all of the community libraries in Solihull have subscriptions to Ancestry, Find My Past, The Genealogist (Diamond subscription) and the British Newspaper Archive. Library members may have two hours' free computer access per day, whilst non-library members may pay a fee for 30 minutes' internet access.

Library subscriptions to Ancestry, Find My Past and the British Newspaper Archive are also accessible via the free library WiFi so you are welcome to bring along your own laptop or mobile device.

Many informal family history groups meet at libraries within Solihull, including specialist groups researching Irish, Caribbean and Jamaican ancestors. Further details are on Solihull Council's website.

Solihull Libraries also run a range of family history courses, ranging from one-off sessions on topics such as military ancestors and DNA, to 7-week beginners' and intermediate courses. Details of forthcoming courses are on Solihull Council's website.

History
The building opened in 1976 as Solihull Central Library and Arts Complex, being renamed The Core in 2016 when other agencies also moved into the building.

Tips for Your Visit
Bring along proof of your name and address to obtain a library card, which will enable you to have two hours' free internet access per day. Alternatively, if you bring along your own laptop or tablet, you may connect to the free library WiFi, which gives unrestricted access to our subscriptions (excluding the Genealogist) whilst you are on library premises.