The Center for Brooklyn History makes its collections available to all researchers.

We welcome scholars, teachers and students, genealogists, artists, documentarians, and anyone who is curious about the history of Brooklyn. 

Several collections are stored offsite and require a minimum of two weeks notice to use. To view the full list click here

While we work to merge our two institutions' collections, the links below will direct you to our respective holdings.


Kid with books

Books

Books and periodicals about Brooklyn in the Brooklyn Public Library catalog.
 

coney island

Photographs 

Brooklyn Public Library Photograph collections here.

Collections originally held by Brooklyn Historical Society here.

Archives and Special Collections

The archival collections document the history of Brooklyn and Long Island from the 1600s to the present. View our collection guides here

 

Oral Histories

Our oral history collections include over 1,200 interviews here.

Brooklyn Public Library, Our Streets, Our Stories collection

Maps

Explore digitized historical maps spanning the seventeenth century to the present here, as well as Brooklyn Public Library's map collections.

Film, Audio and Video Recordings

Explore our digitized film, audio and video recordings here.

Art and Artifacts

CBH's art and artifact collections represent four centuries of Brooklyn’s visual and material culture. A selection are available to search online.

Newspapers: Brooklyn Newsstand

Explore our collection of local Brooklyn titles and high school newspapers here.  

    City and Telephone Directories 

  Search our collection of digitized directories here.

  Brooklynology Blog and Photo of the Week 

Fascinating Brooklyn stories rooted in the collections at CBH here.