Puerto Rico Archives and Libraries
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Archives[edit | edit source]
Diocesan Archive of the Archdiocese of San Juan (Archivo Diocesano de la Arquidiócesis de San Juan)
Calle San Sebastián, Old San Juan
Section 902196, San Juan, PR 00901-19767
Telephone: (787) 977-1447
Website: Diocesan Archive of the Archdiocese of San Juan
- The Archivo Diocesano of San Juan holds various documents relating to the history of the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico, Documentation begins from 1799 to the start of the 20th century, some of it concerning the administration of the church. Subseries within the Justice Section (Sección Justicia) include documents of particular interest for the genealogist: Dispensations- Dispensas de Consanguinidad that are case files for permission for couples who are related to marry. Probanzas de Solteria are preliminary documents announcing an intent to marry. Other documents reflect aspects of the 19th century worldview: legitimation of offspring, licenses for contracting marriage and ecclesiastic divorce. As parental permission was required for grooms under the age of 25 and brides under 23, additional family information was recorded. This is a joint effort between the Archdiocese of San Juan, the University of Puerto Rico (Río Piedras Campus), the University of the Sacred Heart and the Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and Caribbean. Presently as of October 2021, the archives will be moved to another location.
General Archive of Puerto Rico and National Library of Puerto Rico (Archivo General de Puerto Rico y Biblioteca Nacional de Puerto Rico)
Ave. Ponce de León # 500
San Juan
Website: General Archive of Puerto Rico and National Library of Puerto Rico
Guide to Puerto Rican Records in the National Archives New York City)
Website: Guide to Puerto Rican Records in the National Archives New York City
- This reference paper describes the records held by the National Archives at New York City pertaining to Federal government activity in Puerto Rico. These records span 28 different record groups and comprise a total of over 2,750 cubic feet, including six microfilm publications. The majority of documents are in English, however some record groups contain a significant portion of material in Spanish. Furthermore, due to a mistranslation in the Treaty of Paris, the island was commonly referred to as “Porto Rico” in U.S. documents until this practice was formally changed by an act of Congress in 1932. Links are provided to the relevant Archival Research Catalogue (ARC) entry, when available.
Municipal Historical Archive of Caguas (Archivo Histórico Municipal de Caguas)
Padial Street, Caguas, PR
PO Box 907, Caguas, PR 00726-0907
Telephone: (787) 746-0669/(787) 746-4136
Fax: (787) 258-5189
Website: Municipal Historical Archive of Caguas
- The Municipal Historical Archive of Caguas preserves, in an environment that helps its conservation, all those municipal documents with historical value. The more than 650,000 documents are grouped according to the principle of origin. All belong to the City Council fund, grouped into three main sections: Government, Secretariat and Finance. Each section is divided into subsections, series and sub-series. The dates covered range from 1806 to 1955.
Municipal Historical Archive of Ponce (Archivo Histórico Municipal de Ponce)
Calle Marina 9215 Ponce PR
Section 331709 Ponce, PR 00733-1709
Telephone: (787) 843-1422
Fax: (787) 843-3222
Email: archivohisponce@yahoo.com
Website: Municipal Historical Archive of Ponce
- The documentary fund of the Municipal Historical Archive of Ponce began in 1812 with the first book of Acts of the Cabildo when the first mayor, Don José Ortiz de la Renta, was elected and continues until 2006 with the documents that are considered of historical value. It is divided into nine sections: Government, Secretariats, Finance, Plans, Newspaper Library, Photographs, Video-tape, Private Collections and Central Government. It also has collections of books on the history of Ponce, many of them sold out. Private collections include Alfredo Wiechers and Fortuño.
- The Ponce Historic Archive has the biggest collection of documents, letters, photos, microfilms and more, in the entire island. It houses over 300,000 files, each containing thousands of more items. Although most of its contents are Ponce related, there are also some collections dedicated to other Puerto Rican municipalities. Historians, professors, researchers, and more can be granted access.
National Archives at New York City
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House
One Bowling Green
New York, NY 10004
Telephone: Toll-free 866-840-1752 or 212-401-1620
Fax: 212-401-1638
Email: newyork.archives@nara.gov
Website: National Archives at New York City
- This branch of the National Archives has records created by federal agencies and courts in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The archives has naturalization records, internal revenue service records, customs lists, and records of the U.S. District Court of Appeals. They also have microfilms of all available federal census records, many naturalization records, court records, passenger lists for New York City and other ports, Revolutionary War military records, some Civil War service indexes, and World War I draft registrations. The staff will make photocopies for a fee.[1]
National Archives - Puerto Rico
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone: Toll-free 86-NARA-NARA or 866-272-6272
Website: National Historical Publications & Records Commission Puerto Rico
San Juan Military Archive (Archivo Militar de San Juan)
Calle Norzagaray 501 Castillo San Cristóbal, San Juan, PR 00901-1219
Telephone: (787) 729-6791
Fax : (787) 289-7165
Website: San Juan NHS Museum and Archival Collections
- The organization of the collections in the Archive is governed by the principle of origin, that is, the disposition they had in the original deposits, or the order in which the different donors organized it, is maintained. Collections are classified with the name of the deposit, the agency or the donor. Documentary funds cover the 18th centuries to the present. Among the most outstanding funds are the administrative history of the Park, which contains documentation on its background. In addition, some documentary resources come from New York, Washington, and US Army funds, among others. It also includes historical preservation projects that have been carried out in the Murada City, in which the reconditioning processes in the fortifications of the Isleta de San Juan are detailed. Also, documentation of the Spanish Crown, and Tomás O'Reilly (18th century). In addition, the Archive retains documents on the work that has been done on the time of the attacks on San Juan by the English navy and documentation from the Public Record Office in London (General Archive of Great Britain), among others. Currently, the Archive contains about 120,000 cataloged pieces. These relate to Puerto Rican military history, that of the Caribbean, and that of the whole of America, from the establishment of Europeans in the archipelago, especially on the Island of San Juan Bautista, to the present.
Vieques Historical Archives (Archivo Histórico de Vieques)
Cll El Fuerte Moscou Isabel II
Vieques, PR 00765
471 Calle Magnolia, Isabel Segunda
Vieques, PR 00765
Telephone: (787) 741-1717
Email: robert.rabin@cprdv.org
Website: Vieques Historical Archives
Website #2: Vieques Historical Archives
Website #3: New Digital Archives: The Museum of Vieques Historic Memory
Website #4: Fortín Conde de Mirasol
- The Vieques Historical Archives (AHV) was established in 1990 as a center for research on Vieques with a huge
amount of documentation related to a wide variety of topics: archeology, architecture, literature, African slavery and the sugar industry of the nineteenth century, twentieth-century sugar mills, worker struggle of 1915, the presence and activities of the United States Navy on the island and the historic and heroic struggle against the military presence. Both the AHV and Museum of Vieques Historic Memory (MMHV) document the socio-historical processes Vieques from the perspective of people in struggle.
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Biblioteca Nacional de Puerto Rico
Apartado 9024184
San Juan, Puerto Rico
00902-4184
Email: info@icp.pr.gov
Telephone: 787-724-0700 or 787-724-8393
Website: https://www.icp.pr.gov/bnpr/
Carnegie Library (Biblioteca Carnegie)
7 Avenida de la Constitución
San Juan, PR 00901
Telephone: (787) 722-4739
Email: info@yourlibrarysanjuan.org
Website: Carnegie Library
Website #2: Carnegie Library in Puerto Rico
Website #3: Biblioteca Carnegie in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Website #4: The Carnegie Library
Fort Buchanan Library
Depot Road, Bldg. 518, Fort Buchanan
Guaynabo, PR 00965
Telephone: (787) 707-3208/3812
Email: info@yourlibrarysanjuan.org
Website: Ft. Buchanan Family and MWR
Website #2: Fort Buchanan Library
Jane Stern Dorado Community Library
331 Calle Méndez Vigo
Dorado, PR 00646
Telephone: (787) 796-3675
Email: director@jsdcl.org
Email #2: info@jsdcl.org
Website: The Jane Stern Community Library
Website #2: The Jane Stern Dorado Community Library
- The main library occupies 8,125 sq. ft. in Dorado’s Luis Muñoz Marin municipal government building, and has become a center of learning unique in Puerto Rico for the breadth and depth of services provided in its meeting rooms, play areas and computer labs. As the library’s mission has evolved in the digital age, the major goals of its community outreach to underserved populations are to provide programs that support learning and supplement and enrich the education of public school students; to provide computer training to Puerto Rico citizens from children to seniors through courses ranging from basic use to an advanced IT curriculum; and to provide access to computers and the internet through our computer labs, laptops and reliable Wi-Fi.
José M. Lázaro Library (Sistema de Bibliotecas University of Puerto Rico)
Edificio José M. Lázaro, Calle Mangos
San Juan, PR 00931
Ave. Ponce de León San Juan, PR 00931-3302
Telephone: (787) 764-0000 x 85506 85507 85509
Email: ludibel.torres@upr.edu
Website: Sistema de Bibliotecas University of Puerto Rico
- The Library System of the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, contributes to the management of learning, teaching, research, creative work and service that the Campus has as its mission. Through the articulation of services and programs, it integrates information and communication technologies that favor efficient and effective access to updated and pertinent information resources to the curriculum and research. It actively encourages the development of information skills and competencies and promotes the continuous learning and training of an individual capable of generating new knowledge.
Ponce Municipal Library (Biblioteca Publica de Ponce) (Mariana Suarez de Longo Library)
Ave Boulevard Miguel Pou
Ponce, PR 00716
Telephone: (787) 812-3004/3006/3007/3011
Email: library.municipal.msl@ponce.pr.gov
Email #2: joarleen.torres@ponce.pr.gov
Website: Ponce Municipal Library
Website #2: Biblioteca Municipal e Infantil Mariana Suarez de Longo
San Juan Community Library
2105 Cll Topacio, San Juan, PR 00924
Avenida Apolo, corner of Topacio
Guaynabo, PR 00970
Telephone: (787) 789-4600
Email: info@yourlibrarysanjuan.org
Website: San Juan Community Library
Website #2: San Juan Community Library
Website #3: San Juan Community Library at BUCAPLAA
Website #4: San Juan Community Library
Website #5: San Juan Community Library At Bucaplaa
Website #6: The San Juan Community Library
- Founded in 1987, San Juan Community Library is one of only a handful of lending libraries in Puerto Rico. Our library has over 30,000 books, DVDs in Spanish and English in its collection. SJCL is also the only public library with a digital branch, with 1,000 ebooks/audiobooks and 25,000 ebooks from Project Gutenberg (classic titles in public domain).
The list of 66 libraries spanning 43 cities in Puerto Rico can be seen at Puerto Rico Public Libraries.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ William Dollarhide and Ronald A. Bremer. America's Best Genealogy Resource Centers (Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1998), 81. At various libraries (WorldCat). FHL Ref Book 973 J54d.