Charleston County, South Carolina Public Library

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Contact Information
Address:


 * 68 Calhoun Street Charleston, South Carolina 29401

Website Email: [mailto:info@ccpl.org info@ccpl.org] Phone: 843-805-6930 Contact form

Hours and holidays:

Monday – Thursday: 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Friday &amp; Saturday: 9:00 a.m – 6:00 p.m; Sunday: 2:p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closed holidays.

Library Services

 * The South Carolina Roomlocated on the 2nd floor of the Main Library is the place to start your on-site Charleston genealogy research. It houses a large number of books, maps, manuscripts, and images covering a wide variety of local history and genealogical topics. The mission is to collect, preserve and make accessible those materials focusing on the history and genealogy of South Carolina, with special emphasis on Charleston and the Lowcountry. Mailing Address: South Carolina Room Charleston County Public Library 68 Calhoun Street Charleston, SC 29401 Telephone: (843) 805-6956 The staff of the South Carolina Room cannot return long distance calls or fax outside the continental United States. E-mail: scroom@ccpl.org Please see Requesting Genealogy Information by Mail and E-mail below. Fax: (843) 727-6777 South Carolina Room Blog has information about their activities, guides, and collections in the South Carolina Room. Requesting Genealogy Information:  It offers limited research services.Written requests by mail, e-mail, or fax, are preferred, rather than by telephone. Surname searches are too broad for the staff to do. The staff will check up to a maximum of three names in either the Charleston County Will Books (1671-1868) or the Charleston Death Card File (1819-1926), when the patron has specified those as the sources to be checked. They will check up to a maximum of three names per request for obituaries. Obituary requests must have a date of death; newspaper will be checked for up to seven days following the date of death for an obituary. Requests are limited to two requests per patron per month.


 * The Charleston Archivealso located on the second floor of the Main Library, is an archive of historic manuscripts, books and visual materials representing Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry. A number of interesting manuscript collections have been donated to CCPL, including materials from author/artist John Bennett (1865-1956), local historian Eola Willis (1856-1952), and the weekly record of deaths and interments within the city of Charleston during 1819-1926. Many of its records in this Archive are available on microfilm in the South Carolina Room. Access to the original materials is by appointment only and the materials are accessed through the South Carolina  Room  The Charlestone Archive blog sitehas helpful posts about items in their collection.

Collection Description
The genealogical collections at this library focus on Charleston and surrounding counties with resources from around the state. There are manuscripts, books, photos, newspapers, maps, microfilms, and images. The best resources for genealogy are in the South Carolina Room.

Alternate Repositories

 * Though there are 16 branches of the Charleston County Public Library throughout Charleston, the South Carolina Room of the main County Library at 68 Calhoon Street in Charleston houses the genealogy collection for the county system. For hours, phone numbers and addresses for each branch, Click Here.
 * The Charleston Library Society, begun in 1748 to preserve library materials in the homes of the founders.In 1914 the Library Society moved to its current location at 164 King Street.
 * Charleston Archives, Libraries and Museums Council. (CALM) is a group of Charleston, S.C. area organizations interested in preservation of and access to historic and contemporary materials. It includes libraries, museums, societies, churches, and institutions of learning.