Dayton Metro Library

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Contact Information
E-mail: E-mail reference question form

Address:


 * Main Branch
 * 215 E. Third Street
 * Dayton, OH 45402

Telephone: 937-463-BOOK

Hours:   M, T, Th: 9:30 am - 8:30 pm    W, F: 9:30 am - 6:00 pm    Sat: 9:30 am - 6:00 pm    Sun: 1 - 5 pm

Map, directions, and public transportation:


 * Map: Google map: Dayton Metro Library.


 * Directions:
 * from the north on I-75:  Merge onto I-75 S toward Dayton. ake the Webster St/Keowee St/OH-4 N exit, EXIT 54B, toward Springfield, 0.4 mi. Keep right to take the Webster St/Keowee St N ramp toward Fifth Third Field, 0.3 mi. Merge onto Deeds Park Dr, 0.01 mi. Take the 1st right onto Webster St, 0.6 mi. Turn right onto E 3rd St, 0.3 mi. The Dayton Metro Library at 215 E 3RD ST is on the right.
 * from the east on US-35:  Merge onto US-35 W toward Dayton. Take the Jefferson St exit toward OH-48/Main St, 0.5 mi. Keep right to take the Jefferson St ramp toward Fifth Third Field, 0.06 mi. Merge onto S Jefferson St, 0.05 mi. Turn slight right onto S Patterson Blvd, 0.4 mi. Turn left onto E 3rd St, 0.03 mi. The Dayton Metro Library at 215 E 3RD ST is on the right.
 * from the south on I-75:  Merge onto I-75 N toward Dayton. Take the Third St E exit, EXIT 53A, toward Downtown/Sinclair Col, 0.3 mi. Merge onto W 3rd St, 0.8 mi. The Dayton Metro Library at 215 E 3RD ST is on the right.
 * from the west on US-35:  Turn onto US-35 E toward Dayton. Continue straight on when it becomes 3rd St. The Dayton Metro Library is four blocks past the Dayton City Hall - the Library is on the left at 215 E 3RD ST.


 * Public transportation: Dayton RTA buses routes 1 thru 19, X1A, X1B, X5, and 40 thru 43 all stop downtown within three blocks of the Dayton Metro Library.

Internet sites and databases:


 * Dayton Metro Library books-movies-music, programs and events, news, just for you, research tools, use your library, about us, locations, and get involved.
 * Dayton Area Libraries catalog search online by keyword, title, author, or subject. Also in WorldCat.
 * Genealogy Center events, local history resources, manager, staff, community connection, and facilities.

Collection Description
The Dayton Room  has one of Ohio's best genealogical collections including books, periodicals, indexes, genealogies, and biographies.

Special Collections have Dayton history and genealogy, historical photographs, journals, magazines and newspapers. Computers and microfilm scanners are among the tools available. Local history resources include:


 * African-American Experience in Ohio
 * Ancestry Library Edition - (In Library Only)
 * Dayton Daily News Archive
 * Dayton Obituary Index Search Form 1850-1890, 1903-1913, 1920-1931, 1951-1957, 1985-present
 * Dayton Remembers: Image Collection
 * Ohio Death Certificate Index
 * Ohio Memory
 * Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. Includes Northwest Territory (Ohio) papers.
 * National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago) old federal court and agency records for Ohio, U.S. federal censuses 1790–1940; military service and pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, Fold3.
 * Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, premier periodical collection, including Ohio genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, and passenger lists.
 * Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, a large repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.
 * Ohio History Connection, Columbus, serves as the state archives. Excellent manuscript collection for government, land, and military records. Also has biographies, genealogies, and vital records.
 * State Library of Ohio, Columbus, has good records of Ohio, and of states like Pennsylvania, New York, and the states of New England which all contributed early immigrants to Ohio.

Similar Collections


 * Columbus Metropolitan Library Internet history and genealogy, Sanborn maps, newspaper indexes, Columbus Historical Society, and images. (Genealogy section moved until Aug 2016).
 * Ohio Genealogical Society, Bellville, has the best collection of family folders in Ohio. They also have county record guides, biographies, genealogies and unique indexes to various Ohio records.
 * Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, a top genealogy and local history collection of early Ohio sources. This includes the Inland Rivers Library  of the Ohio River and its tributaries (riverboat traffic between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Louisville, Kentucky) in Special Collections.
 * Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, a good solid genealogy collection with oral histories, state and county histories, biographies, and genealogies. Youngstown was a portal for immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England entering Ohio.
 * Toledo‑Lucas County Public Library, this is the place to come if you are looking for early Ohio settlers who entered Ohio via the Great Lakes and Toledo. They have Great Lakes traffic records.

Neighboring Collections


 * Dayton and Montgomery County Public Health Office of Vital Statistics birth and deaths since 1909.
 * Montgomery County Records Center and Archives births and deaths 1886-1969, births and deaths 1867-1908, deaths 1877-1924, marriages 1803-1934, coroner 1919-1952, chancery 1823-1854, circuit court 1883-1914, civil cases since 1803, criminal cases 1803-1981, court of appeals 1913-1991, superior court 1856-1896, manumissions 1804-1805, deeds 1805-1933, naturalizations 1815-1930, poorhouse 1826-1937, indigent soldier burials 1884-1902, inmates 1829-1978, estates 1803-1938, wills 1805-1939, lunacy 1838-1948, naturalizations 1815-1930, soldier home records 1867-1906, soldier discharges 1865-1945, jails 1881-1982.
 * Montgomery County Clerk of the Courts, civil, and criminal cases.
 * Montgomery County Coroner suspicious or unusual deaths.
 * Montgomery County Recorder land records.
 * Montgomery County Probate Court adoptions, birth, guardianships, mental commitments, name changes, probates and wills.
 * U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Dayton, recent civil and criminal cases.
 * Dayton History Carillon Historical Park, and 30 more historical buildings.
 * Jewish Genealogical Society of Dayton
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Butler, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Preble, and Warren.
 * Bowling Green State University Jerome Library local government records, and newspapers.
 * Erie Lackawanna Historical Society, Cleveland, history of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, Erie Railroad, Erie Lackawanna Railway, and related lines. No employee records.
 * Ohio University Alden Library, Athens, their excellent manuscript collection includes church records, and business records. They also have county histories, biographies, and newspapers. It is like a second state archives.
 * Palatines to America German Genealogy Society Resource Center, Columbus, has an extensive collection of German immigrant ancestor files. Their books are at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
 * Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, is strong on Ohio history and genealogy, as well as Sandusky River and Great Lakes history, U.S. history and Black studies.
 * University of Akron Libraries Polsky Building one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * University of Cincinnati Blegen Library one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, The Western Reserve was a large part of Ohio settled by Connecticut Revolutionary War refugees. This important collection includes original land records, as well as many genealogies, biographies, histories, and Bibles of Pennsylvania and New England.
 * Wright State University Dunbar Library, Dayton, one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Repositories in surrounding states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia; and in Canada: Ontario.
 * Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, millions of books, newspapers, periodicals, and photos about genealogy and family history, biographies, censuses, citizenship, immigration to and from Ohio and the USA, settlement, births, marriages, deaths, and divorces.