Phoenix Public Library, Burton Barr Central Library

United States Arizona  Archives and Libraries  Phoenix Public Library, Burton Barr Central Library

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Contact Information
E-mail: Ask Us Via Email

Address:


 * 1221 N. Central Ave.
 * Phoenix, AZ 85004

Telephone: 602-262-4636

Hours and holidays:


 * Mon, Fri, Sat - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 * Tue, Wed, Thu - 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
 * Sun - 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Map, directions, and public transportation:


 * Map:  Google map: Phoenix Public Library.


 * Directions 
 * From the North. Take I-17 S/Black Canyon Fwy S toward Phoenix. Merge onto I-10 E/Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway/Papago Fwy E via EXIT 200A toward Tucson/Central Phoenix, 1.5 mi. Take the 7th Ave exit, EXIT 144A, 0.3 mi. Keep right to take the 7th Ave S ramp, 0.08 mi. Merge onto N 7th Ave, 0.09 mi. Turn left onto W Roosevelt St, 0.5 mi. Turn left onto W Roosevelt St, 0.3 mi. 1221 N CENTRAL AVE is on the right.
 * From the East. Turn onto US-60 W toward Phoenix. Merge onto I-10 W/Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway toward I-10 W/Phoenix, 9.8 mi. Take the 3rd St exit, EXIT 145B, on the left, 0.4 mi. Turn left onto N 3rd St, 0.2 mi. Keep right at the fork to continue on N 3rd St, 0.06 mi. Take the 1st right onto E Roosevelt St, 0.2 mi. Turn right onto N Central Ave, 0.3 mi. 1221 N CENTRAL AVE is on the right.
 * From the South.

Take Interstate 17 north to the 19th Avenue exit. Turn right (north) onto 19th Avenue and go approximately 1 mile to Madison and turn left (west), at which point you will see parking to your left in the front of the building.
 * From the West. Take Interstate 10 east to Interstate 17 south to the Jefferson Street exit. Turn left (east) onto Jefferson Street (it's a one-way street) and drive approximately one-half mile to 19th Avenue and turn right (south), then right (west) onto Madison. Entrance to parking is on the left (south).


 * Public transportation: 

Internet sites and databases:



Collection Description
The Phoenix Public Library, Burton Barr Central Library has an Arizona history collection which is a good place for genealogy research. The Arizona Room  includes Spanish American War Rough Rider correspondence and news clippings, Arizona city directories, Arizona high school yearbooks, 1870-1930 U.S. federal censuses, Arizona newspaper and periodical indexes, maps, and federal government records. Phoenix Public Library is also a depository for U.S. Government documents.

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—Pacific Region (Riverside), CA. Federal court records and federal agencies in Arizona.
 * State Library, Phoenix, has a large book/periodical collection including immigration, vital records, courts, wills, county histories, and Internet sites. The  starting place for AZ family history research.
 * State Archives, Phoenix, marriages, wills and probates, civil and criminal records, brands, taxes, coroner records, voting registers, prisoners, state agencies, maps, newspapers, photos.
 * Bancroft Library, Univ. Calif. Berkeley Early settlers, migration trails, stagecoaches, miners, and histories. They probably have more Arizona historical material than any repository in Arizona.
 * Southwest Museum Braun Research Library, Los Angeles, CA. Includes the Monk Library of Arizoniana, California and Arizona history, and records of southwest American Indians.
 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, has many Arizona cemeteries, census, church, court, histories, immigration, land, military, and naturalization records on microfilm.

Similar Collections


 * Pima County Public Library, Joel D. Valdez Main Library, Tucson, the Arizona collection, and the Southern Arizona Genealogical Society collection are housed here.

Neighboring Collections


 * Mesa FamilySearch Library, Mesa, 81,000 microfilms including AZ censuses, 40,000 books (many local histories), 129 public computers, and over 90 classes and workshops per month.
 * Arizona State University Library, Tempe, a good place to look for early Arizona families.
 * West Valley Genealogical Society, Youngstown, an active society with a good little library. Probably represents outside Arizona better because of retirees who contribute from all around the U.S.
 * Maricopa County Office of Vital Registration births 1950-present; and deaths.
 * Maricopa County Superior Court Clerk marriages, criminal, civil, divorces, probate and tax court cases.
 * Maricopa County Recorder's Office land and mortgage records 1871-present.
 * U.S. District Court civil, criminal, appellate, and bankruptcy cases.
 * Maricopa Historical Society, Wickenburg, exhibits and publications.
 * Arizona Jewish Historical Society, Phoenix, exhibits and genealogical classes.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Gila, La Paz, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, and Yuma.
 * Arizona Historical Society, Tucson Library and Archives, has a Mexican and an early Arizona collection, Colorado River topics, manuscripts 1860-present, oral histories, maps, and photos.
 * University of Arizona Special Collections, Tucson, materials on Arizona, Southwest American history, and the U.S./Mexico Borderlands, including rare books, manuscripts, and photographs.
 * Northern Arizona University Cline Library, Flagstaff, includes Arizona history, Arizona photographs, archives, and oral histories.
 * Repositories in surrounding states (or nations): California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah; in Mexico: Baja California, Sonora, and Mexico.
 * California State Archives, Sacramento, has county records of the state, such as court records, prison records, wills, deeds, as well as military records, state census records, and school records.
 * Nevada State Library and Archives, Carson City, births, marriages, deaths, censuses, military.
 * New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, Santa Fe, government records since 1621, manuscripts, Catholic church records, census, wills, family histories, letters, diaries, maps, photos.
 * Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, newspaper, death, land, court, history, naturalization, military, directories, criminals.
 * Archivo General de la Nación, Mexico City, church, civil, census, court, history, military, migration, land.