Our collections contain thousands of unique documents, plans and photographs that tell the story of over 850 years of York’s history. Our oldest document dates from 1155, the most recent from this year.
We also look after thousands of books, historic newspapers and maps about the city and surrounding area.
The civic archive contains the records of City of York Council and its predecessors, whilst our community collections include personal and family papers as well as the records of York-based charities, businesses and community groups.
You can search our catalogued collections through this website, or browse our available collections guides and online galleries to find out more detailed information about some of our records. We have created introductory pages for Family History, Local History and House History with hints and tips guides, and we also have a number of other getting started guides and online collections you can access.
At Poppleton Library, you can also access the archive of Poppleton History Society, which is held in the library building.