Family name information, genealogy, histories, census data, military records, passenger lists, vital records, directories, photos, and more. Ancestry Library Edition is subject to ongoing updates and new content is added frequently. Ancestry Library Edition is only available from computers inside of the Birmingham Public Library.

Birmingham Public Library - In Library Use Only.

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The "WPA Index to Alabama Biography" was a Works Progress Administration project begun in the 1930’s then abandoned when funding for the WPA was curtailed. Although the index was never completed, over 97 titles such as Who's Who in America, other biographical dictionaries, and local histories were indexed by the workers. It is an invaluable tool for researching Alabama biographical sources.

Publicly Available.

The Alabama Coal Mine Fatalities Database consists of 2188 records compiled by the staff of the Government Documents department using available annual reports of Alabama mine inspectors from 1898 through 1938.

Publicly Available.

The Alabama Episcopal Church Registers database lists confirmations, baptisms, marriages and burials for more than 14,000 people in sixteen Alabama parishes for the period of the 1830s to the 1970s

Publicly Available.

This database includes inventors who lived in Alabama at the time they received their patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Government Documents Department of the Birmingham Public Library has compiled these records and will add to and update them as information becomes available.

Publicly Available.

AlabamaMosaic (Alabama's Digitization Project) is a work in progress. A number of collections are available for browsing and searching. More collections will be added in the near future. The purpose of AlabamaMosaic is to make unique historical treasures from Alabama's archives, libraries, museums, and other repositories electronically accessible to Alabama residents as well as scholars throughout the world.

Publicly Available.

The Birmingham Black Barons, one of the most successful baseball teams in the Negro Leagues, played from the 1920s until the 1950s. The team played their home games at Rickwood Field. This database is a keyword index to articles that appeared in local newspapers including the Birmingham News and the Birmingham World. The Government Documents Department of the Birmingham Public Library is compiling this database.

Publicly Available.

The Cartography Collection contains regional and historical maps and atlases from the 16th through the 20th centuries. While the emphasis of the collection is on the area of the globe occupied by Alabama, the historic maps retrace the development of the region over centuries and illustrate the evolution of mapmaking. Featured in this online collection are many of the library’s notable and important maps.

Publicly Available.

Search the Birmingham News Archives from 1993 - today. Find full-text articles on local news, issues, events, people and much more from current and archived issues of the Birmingham News. Updated daily, it includes obituaries, editorials, announcements, sports, real estate and other sections. Read the paper in the original PDF or find content that was only published on the web. Available from inside the library or from home.

Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.

The photograph collection depicts some of Birmingham’s prominent historic landmarks, pop culture palaces, businesses, churches, government buildings, gathering spaces, and people. While some of these structures have survived to the present, others are only memories. These photos form a composite portrait of the city over time.

Publicly Available.

Search America's historic newspapers pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. There are currently 664 historical newspapers available to browse and view in this site and over 140,000 newspapers listed in the U.S. Newspaper Directory.

Publicly Available.

Search for your ancestors in free family history, family tree, and genealogy records and resources from around the world.

Publicly Available.

Jefferson County Probate Court, Loose Records is an Index for Boxes 1-637 (Birmingham) and Bessemer - 1916-1936. (Note: Boxes 1-637 refers to the Woodruff Boxes (Drawers) the cases were originally filed as -- not the archival boxes they are in now.)

Publicly Available.

In 1871 the City of Birmingham purchased from the Elyton Land Company 21.5 acres of land for a city cemetery (later named Oak Hill). The deed was issued December 29, 1873. As the first city cemetery, Oak Hill became the resting place for virtually all of the Birmingham pioneers. Although the majority of burials at Oak Hill Cemetery date back before the 1930's, it remains an active cemetery, averaging fifteen burials per year.

Publicly Available.

Cemetery Plot Map

The Obituary Index : Birmingham Area Newspapers database is an ongoing project of the Government Documents Department of the Birmingham Public Library. Obituaries from four Birmingham area newspapers are included: the Birmingham News, the Birmingham World, the Methodist Christian Advocate, and the Shelby County Reporter.

Publicly Available.

Red Mountain Cemetery, sometimes called Southside Cemetery, was used by the City of Birmingham from 1888 to 1906 as a place to bury the indigent dead. The cemetery contains 4,711 burials and was located south of the city on the site that is now Lane Park and the Birmingham Zoo. The graves were not removed, but decades after the cemetery ceased to be used, the park and zoo were built over the graves.

Publicly Available.

Digital versions of large-scale maps of Alabama towns and cities. Fire insurance maps with data on structures in use at the time the map was made. Includes information such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors. Street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.

Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.

The U.S. Serial Set, an ongoing collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under the directive of Congress, captures every aspect of American life from the early 19th century onward, from farming, to westward expansion, scientific exploration, politics, international relations, business, and manufacturing. It includes Congressional reports and documents as well as executive agency and departmental reports ordered to be printed by Congress.

Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.