Grand Rapids History Center FAQs

  • General Questions

    The Grand Rapids History Center collects, preserves, and shares the history of our community, through photographs, diaries, posters, maps and other records. You can research your house, your family, a business, or your neighborhood.

    Staff are ready to assist you with your research needs, whether it be finding material on our shelves, tips on where to start, or with navigating our archival collections. We’re here to help you explore at your own pace. You may drop in at any time, or you can contact us ahead of time with questions. If you’re traveling from out of town, we recommend that you check in with us before your visit (but it isn’t required).

    The Grand Rapids History Center is located on level four of the Main Library, and is open the same hours. 

    Please note that while covered beverages are allowed on other floors of the library, no food or beverages (including water) are permitted on level four.

    Contact us with details of your research request. We’re happy to answer quick questions and provide suggestions for further research. Due to the time and staff resources involved in researching answers to local history, genealogy, and furniture questions, some fees apply to certain types of requests. We encourage researchers to come to our library to be assisted for free.

    Family history queries can also be submitted to the Western Michigan Genealogical Society research committee.

    We love when people use and share images from our archives. Our digital collections were designed with sharing in mind and if you find content that you would like to download and share, you are welcome to do so. If you do, we ask that you please let people know that it came from the Grand Rapids Public Library, so others may find it as well.

    There are some fees that apply to scanning and using images. If the content is not available through our digital collections, there is a $5 processing fee per image. If you would like to include an image in a published book or use it for commercial purposes (such as selling a t-shirt or creating artwork for a restaurant or office), there is a use fee of $15 per image. For additional information and to order images, please visit our order form.

    There are also exceptions for content where the copyright is held by someone else. In those instances, you need to seek permission from the copyright holder. In our digital collections we use RightsStatements.org categories to share, to the best of our knowledge, if content is in the public domain or under copyright. 

    You can search our finding aids here. When you arrive, you will fill out a request card for each folder or box. The request card asks for your name and contact information, and the location of the material you would like to view (usually a collection number, box number and folder number). You may have one box or five folders at your table at a time.

    With the exception of our furniture folio collection, all materials are stored on-site. If you would like any guidance in searching or in preparing your requests, or if you would like to request a furniture folio be brought to the Grand Rapids History Center to view, please contact us. It may take up to three business days to fulfill your request.

    We are always looking for items to tell the story of our community, from the recent past to the 1800s. If you have unique books, papers, letters, scrapbooks or photographs you think would contribute to this cause, please contact us.

    If you are interested in making a monetary donation, please contact the Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation.

    Cornell University has a great guide for understanding copyright terms and the public domain. If you have questions about our collections, contact us.

    Yes – we have city directories for Grand Rapids and Kent County, ranging from 1856 to the present. We also have city directories for surrounding areas such as Battle Creek, Grand Haven, Hastings, Holland-Zeeland, Kalamazoo, and Muskegon. You can search our catalog for a complete listing.

    Yes – we collect high school yearbooks for the Grand Rapids area, as well as Grand Rapids Community College yearbooks. You can view a full listing here.

    GRPL often partners with the Western Michigan Genealogical Society (WMGS) to provide classes and events for the community. Visit our event calendar to stay up-to-date about current classes, or visit WMGS’s website here.

    We do! We have newspapers, magazines, and property and genealogy records on microfilm and microfiche. You can view them using older manual, hand-crank machines or modern ScanPro microfilm scanners attached to computers. On the ScanPro stations you can scan a copy of the film, with the option to print a copy, save it to a thumb drive, or send it directly to your email address. If you have microfilm or microfiche of your own that you need to view, you are welcome to use our machines.

    You do not need a library card to use the Grand Rapids History Center. Our collections are open to everyone. We will ask for your name and contact information to view archival material.