Local and family history services

Sepia photograph of familiy sat round table

Local History lunch time talks at Leeds Central Library

Our next Local History lunch time talk will take place on Friday 3rd September 2010. James Hester from the Royal Armouries will present a talk entitled 'The Royal Armouries Museum - From London to Leeds'. All are welcome and admission is free. The event will take place in the 3rd floor Meeting Room, Leeds Central Library, between 1.00pm and 2.00pm.

New - Maps and Trade Directories workshop

The Local and Family History Library are running a new workshop on using maps and trade directories while researching your family history. The next workshop is on Wednesday 6th October 2010 at 2.00pm at Leeds Central Library. To book a place please contact the library on 0113 247 8290 or email localstudies@leedslearning.net 

New - British Library Nineteenth Century Newspapers.

Leeds Libraries now have access to the British Library Nineteenth Century Newspapers database which includes the Leeds Mercury. Access is through libraries or from your home computer using your library card number. To access this resource please follow this link or visit www.leeds.gov.uk/onlineresources.

About us 

The Local and Family History Library aims to acquire, conserve and make available to the public all materials published on Leeds and significant publications on Yorkshire, with the emphasis on West Yorkshire. The library holds about 180,000 items including books, journals, directories, maps, photographs and prints, playbills and microfilms.

The library is concerned with two distinct subject areas

Local History - anything to do with Leeds and Yorkshire – history, geography, religion, education and natural history.

Family History – a fast-growing area of popularity, for which we have a wide variety of resources.

Research services
If you are unable to visit the library, staff will answer quick enquiries received by e-mail, letter or telephone free of charge. For more detailed research requests a charge is made, £5.00 per 30 minutes for Leeds residents and £10.00 per 30 minutes for customers who live outside Leeds. Contact the Local and Family History Library for more information.

You can use our online form to make a request for local and family history information.

 Address  Opening Times  
 Local and Family History  Monday 09.00 - 20.00              
 Central Library  Tuesday 09.00 - 20.00
 Calverley Street  Wednesday 09.00 - 20.00
 Leeds  Thursday 09.00 - 17.00
 LS1 3AB  Friday 09.00 - 17.00
 Tel: 0113 247 8290                Saturday 10.00 - 17.00
 Fax: 0113 247 8290  Sunday 13.00 - 17.00

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