Burlington Public Library has long been aware of the importance of preserving the local history of Burlington and its surrounding areas. The library has accumulated various historical materials documenting the area's history and families in partnership with the Burlington Historical Society (BHS).
The Local History Collection contains many historical materials about the city of Burlington including a large selection of books, published local histories, biographical files of pinoneer families, files on cemeteries, churches and schools, local newspapers and indexes, directories, postcards, atlases, photographs, scrapbooks, yearbooks and more. The Burlington History Room at Central Branch, 2nd floor is also home to the BHS archives.
To view materials from the Burlington History Room or inquire about local history, please contact the Local History & Digital Archive Coordinator through our online form or call 905.639.3611 ext 1155.
Collections & Services
Get started with your local history research with these resources:
Microfilm and Microfiche: Burlington Public Library has two digital microfilm readers. Library users can access the library’s collection of newspapers captured in microform by using the digital readers and saving material as image files to a USB flash drive. Burlington newspapers are available in microform at Central, 2nd floor. They include:
- The Burlington Gazette 1899-1986
- The Burlington Journal 1993-1996
- The Burlington Post 1968 -
Burlington History Index: The Burlington History Index is a retrieval tool for the library's non-digitized materials mainly located in the Burlington History Room at Central Library. Content includes Burlington and Oakville/Halton County information, and also Hamilton and Wentworth County landmarks and events as they have linked to our past. New items are added to the Index regularly.
Research Your Burlington House: Resources in the Burlington History Room at Central that can help you research the history of your property. Researching an address may require some serious digging in order to piece the story together, but the results are rewarding!
Genealogy: Getting Started: Online resources to help you start your genealogy research.
Digital Archive: Browse our growing digital local history collection of images, local newspapers, historic local family collections, postcard collections, and scrapbooks. New content is added regularly, so be sure to visit often!
Image illustration by A. Adamson (c. 1974), The New Library in Burlington. Part of a series of drawings created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Burlington.
Related links
BPL Local History Donation Agreement
City of Burlington, Office of the City Clerk
Burlington Historical Society Digital Archives
Digital Archive Ontario curated by Toronto Public Library