New York Public Library. United States History, Local History and Genealogy Division

The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, located in The New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library, collects materials documenting American history on the national, state and local level, genealogy, heraldry, personal and family names, and flags.

The division's local history and genealogy collection dates back to the establishment of the Astor Library in 1848. The Astor Library, unlike many other libraries of its time, collected local history material on a national scale, and acquired genealogies concerning prominent American families of European descent.

In 1895, the Astor Library, Lenox Library and Tilden Trust merged to form the New York Public Library. Genealogical and local history materials from the Astor and Lenox libraries were joined to form a single collection when the new institution's central building opened in 1911. In the beginning this collection was chiefly used by people engaged in genealogical research regarding their families. Users often came from out of town seeking information that could not be found elsewhere. Demand was high for books on American and British genealogy and there was a constant call for books on New York City and New York State history.

In later years, wartime brought in an influx of users. War stimulated interest in the ancestry of military leaders like General MacArthur and Winston Churchill.

Two events occurred in the late 1970's that had significant effects on the division, resulting in a 20% increase in readers. The country's bicentennial inspired people in communities across the nation to write local histories, and the television miniseries "Roots" in 1977 caused a tremendous stir as tracing ancestry became a national pastime.

From its inception in 1911 until 1987, 4 individuals served as Chief of the Division: Henry Strippel (1911-1945), Gerald D. McDonald (1945-1969), Gunther Pohl (1969-1985) and John Miller (1985-1987).

Over the years, the name of the division has changed. When the New York Public Library central building opened in 1911 it was called the Genealogy and Local History Division. In 1947, the name was inverted to become Local History and Genealogy Division. It was divided administratively into two divisions-American History and Local History & Genealogy-in April 1969. In 1980, the American History Division closed, and its books were transferred to Local History and Genealogy. In 1981 the name was changed to United States History, Local History and Genealogy Division.

Known today as the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, the division still thrives. The collections includes town, city, county and state histories that are national in scope, as well as international genealogical materials. In addition to the book and serial collection, the division houses over 300,000 postcards, a local history ephemera collection, political campaign ephemera, vertical files and a photographic and negative collection.

From the guide to the United States History, Local History and Genealogy Division Records, ca. 1900-1987, bulk 1970-1979, (The New York Public Library. New York Public Library Archives.)