Florida Archives and Libraries
The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services helpful for genealogical research.
Florida Department of State
Bureau of Archives and Record Management
Mail Station
R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
Telephone: 850-245-6700
Fax: 850-488-4894
Internet: http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/index_researchers.cfm
As of January 1984 the genealogy collection of the Florida State Library was transferred to the Florida State Archives. However, the Florida State Library, which is also in the R.A. Gray Building, still has references of interest to the genealogist, especially in the "Florida Collection."
National Archives—Southeast Region (Atlanta)
5780 Jonesboro Road
Morrow, Georgia 30260
Phone: 770-968-2100
Fax: 770-968-2547
Internet: http://www.archives.gov/southeast/
Florida State Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 10249
Tallahassee, FL 32302-2249
Internet: http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsgs/index.htm
Florida Historical Library
435 Brevard Avenue
Cocoa, FL 32922
Phone: 321-690-1971
Fax: 321-690-4388
Internet: http://www.florida-historical-soc.org/
'University of 'Florida
Smathers Library Room 100
P.O. Box 117007
Gainesville, FL 32611
Telephone: 352-392-0319
Fax: 352-392-4788
Internet: http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/
University of West Florida
John C. Pace Library
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514
Telephone: 850-474-2424
Internet: http://uwf.edu/library/
University of Miami
Otto G. Richter Library
1300 Memorial Drive
P.O. Box 248214
Coral Gables, Florida 33124-0320
Phone 305-284-3233
Fax 305-284-4027
Internet: http://www.library.miami.edu/about/contactus/helpdesks.html
Orange County Library System
101 East Central Boulevard
Orlando, FL 32801
Telephone: 407.835.7323
Internet: http://www.ocls.info/Locations/MainLibrary/DRI/genealogy.asp?bhcp=1
Two helpful guides for several important Florida archives and libraries are:
Catalog of the Florida State Archives. Tallahassee, Florida: Department of State, 1975. (FHL book 975.9 A5fs number 1.)
Guide to Depositories of Manuscript Collections in the United States: Florida. Jacksonville, Florida: Florida Historical Records Survey Project, 1940. (FHL book 975.9 A1 number 130.)
To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Florida counties, use the 12 inventories of the county archives published by the Historical Records Survey around 1940. Copies are at the Family History Library.
Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards
Computers with modems can be useful tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In a way, computer networks themselves serve as a library. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial on-line services help family history researchers:
- Locate other researchers
- Post queries
- Send and receive e-mail
- Search large databases
- Search computer libraries
- Join in computer chat and lecture sessions
You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Florida in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost.
Addresses on the Internet change frequently. The following sites are important gateways linking you to many more network and bulletin board sites:
USGenWeb
A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county, state, and country.
Roots-L
http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/usa/
A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly updated research coordination list.
For further details about using computer networks, bulletin boards, and news groups for family history research, see the United States Research Outline "Archives and Libraries" section.
FamilySearch™
The Family History Library and some Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch™. FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing several million names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; some have been automated from original sources.