Library Collections

The Brooklyn Land Conveyance collection documents Brooklyn land transfers from 1699 through 1896. Organized by block, these abstracts show seller (grantor) and buyer (grantee) information. To determine the block number for a specific property, just enter the address into the New York City Department of Buildings’ online database.  A tutorial is available in two parts: part one, part two. Please note that these are just abstracts, not the actual deeds. In many cases, these abstracts are the only records of these early land transactions that have survived.

For records covering years outside of the Center for Brooklyn History's collection, see the following:

• New York City Department of Finance - Includes abstracts and deeds for property transfers post-1900
• New York Public Library - Includes Brooklyn land conveyances records for 1679-1850 and indexes for 1683-1950

The Center for Brooklyn History holds a series of bound volumes of the Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Brooklyn, dating from 1854 to 1897. The series also contains related documents such as City Charters and Ordinances (1840, 1850, 1854, 1857, 1865, 1873, 1888-1889, 1895), Corporation and Common Council manuals (1855-1869), Kings County Supervisors minutes (1872, 1877, 1884-1886, 1889, 1893-1895), Building and Health laws (1870, 1881, 1887, 1895), and Park laws (1887).

The collection of directories serves as a valuable resource of information pertaining to residential, municipal, and commercial life in Brooklyn and New York City from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.  Directories are quite extensive and regularly include registers of public departments and institutions, street and avenue directories, purchaser’s guides, general directories (including occupations and businesses of local residents), and advertising indexes, while also occasionally featuring illustrated city plans, maps of transit lines, and information pertaining to public parks, ward boundaries, freight depots, locations of piers, cabs and taxicabs, and borough histories. Early directories often include race and widowhood. The directories are digitally accessible for the years 1856 to 1965. Earlier directories are accessible in print from 1796 to 1855 (run incomplete). Additional directories are stored offsite and can be requested in advance at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org. Please allow two weeks for delivery. 

Fire Insurance Atlases
The collection of historical Brooklyn atlases spans the years 1846-1932. Designed for insurance valuation, for real estate brokers and lawyers, for the mapping of farm lines, or for the use of government officials, these maps include specialized details of Brooklyn blocks and lots across the 19th and 20th centuries. Depending on their intended use,  atlases can include block and lot numbers, the material content of every building and road, street status and usability, locations of sewers and water mains, locations of subway and rail lines, plate boundaries, section and ward division lines, original farm lines, and prominent businesses and institutions, among further information. Most atlases are physically represented in the collection, but some are only available on microfiche. View the atlas index here. Digitally accessible fire insurance maps are also available through Fire Insurance Maps Online. A Brooklyn Public Library card is required to access this resource. Out-of-state researchers are welcome to use the branch card when on site.  

Maps & Atlases
Historical and recent maps are searchable in the catalog and can be navigated using subject tags in the right hand filter menu.  Many of the former Brooklyn Historical Society's maps are digitally available. The Brooklyn Public Library's maps and atlases are stored off-site and are typically only accessible through the digital collections portal. Please contact digitalcollections@bklynlibrary.org regarding rights and reproductions. 

The library holds microfilm (reels) and microfiche (cards) on various topics, including:

• Brooklyn and Long Island scrapbooks, volumes 1-94, 97-121, 134-168
• Census records, 1800-1920
• Church records, 1851-1693 
• City directories, 1786-1934
• Genealogy records
• Maps and atlases, 1846-1927
• Military history, 1777-1914
• Newspapers, 1777-1999
  Includes Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Long Island newspapers, as well as a small selection of other newspapers.
• Local Newspapers on Microfilm Collection BCMS.0028, 1835-1999
• Slavery pamphlets

and other subject matter.

This neighborhood guides and histories booklist brings together many of the library’s books on neighborhood histories. These are excellent resources for both genealogical and property research. Additional titles can be found in the book catalog and the archives portal. Please note that these titles cannot be placed on hold through the website, but can be reserved for appointments by emailing cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.

Many Brooklyn newspapers are available for research in the library in print, on microform, or digitally. Some titles are available in their full run, while others are only available in certain ranges. 

Newspapers available in print

• Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 2022 - present
• Brooklyn Eagle, March 2023
• Brooklyn Graphic, January/February - present
• Brooklyn Heights Press, April/May 2022 - present
• Canarsie Courier, February 2022 - October 2022
• Greenpoint Williamsburg Gazette, November 2022 - present

Newspapers available on microfilm
209 newspapers (1777-1999) are available on microfilm, including one newsletter. 114 titles are arranged in the former Brooklyn Historical Society's microfilm collection, and 89 are organized in the Local Newspapers on Microfilm Collection. Forty-four of these newspapers titles are digitally available through the Brooklyn Newsstand. Some titles are stored off-site and can be requested by emailing cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org. Please allow two weeks for delivery. View the index of newspapers on microform.

Newspapers available digitally 
Fourty-four newspapers are available through the Brooklyn Newsstand (1809-1999), in partnership with Newspapers.com. The newsstand is available both on and off-site and is keyword searchable. A tutorial is available.

The Long Island Star Highlights (1834-1841) and Marriage & Death Notices (1809-1845)
The complete run of The Long Island Star (1809-1823) and its subsequent iterations, The Star (1824-1825), The Long-Island Star (1826-1840), Brooklyn Daily Evening Star (1841), and Brooklyn Evening Star (1841-1863), are available on microfilm and the Brooklyn Newsstand. This is Brooklyn and Long Island's oldest newspaper. 

Highlights
A handwritten guide to The Long Island Star was compiled by Thomas Lawrence, highlighting moments and subjects captured in the newspaper between 1834 and 1841. Such highlights relate to: a chronology of The Long Island Star, money and finance, City of Brooklyn, Long Island Railroad, Common Council, streets, South Ferry, and politics. The guide includes the article's title, date, and page number(s), as well as some excerpts. 

Marriage & Death Notices
A card index on marriage and death notices posted in The Long Island Star is available for the years 1809 to 1845. Information included in marriage records relates to the place and date of the ceremony, immediate family members and places of origin of the newlyweds, and, occasionally, the reverend who performed the service. Information included in death records relates to the deceased’s relation to the Long Island / Brooklyn area, place and date of death, immediate familial and spousal relations, and occupation and / or titles of distinction. Occasional mentions are also made regarding place of birth, site of funerary ceremony, place of burial, and the family line of the deceased.

The Center for Brooklyn History holds runs of many hard-to-find magazines, journals and other periodicals relevant to Brooklyn and Long Island research, inlcuding:

• The Brooklynite, 1926-1930
• Brooklyn Life, 1890-1931
• BMT Monthly, 1917-1933
• Flatbush magazine, 1923-1928, 1941-1960
• Long Island Historical Society Quarterly /The Journal of Long Island History, 1939-1942, 1961-1969, 1973-1982

The Brooklynite
The Brooklynite publication caters to Brooklyn society, photos of various socialites, humorous anecdotal stories, poetry, and artwork. See the inventory here.

Brooklyn Life
Brooklyn Life magazine provides Brooklyn-wide news coverage of society, club life, theater, and politics. Features wedding and death announcements for some prominent Brooklynites. There are no birth announcements. Early issues of the paper are heavily illustrated and contain numerous proverbs, epigrams, aphorisms, and poems. Local club news covers the sports of cricket, badminton, tennis, and lacrosse. Select issues are devoted to a single subject, such as: Bicycling, Easter, Horse Shows, Outings, Education, and St. Valentine's Day. Issues commonly include numerous photographs of life in Brooklyn. At the beginning of the 20th century a "Military" section appears in the paper, as does a "Motoring" section. Photographs of stage productions appear regularly in the paper. The names and addresses of "Automobile Owners of Brooklyn and Long Island" also appear regularly after the turn of the century. Advertisements appear throughout. This title is remotely available on the Brooklyn Newsstand. Indexes to the magazine are available in the library's reference corner. Learn more about Brooklyn Life in this Brooklynology blog post from 2010.

BMT Monthly
Part of the Brooklyn commuter railroad and subway collection (call number: ARC.152), BMT Monthly a newsletter for employees of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT). Topics include social events, such as dances and fundraisers, personal and professional updates on employees (active and retired), "Words of Commendation," updates and improvements on lines and services, retirements, deaths, general news, photographs, and illustrations.

Long Island Historical Society Quarterly / The Journal of Long Island History 
Long Island Historical Society Quarterly, 1939-1942;  The Journal of Long Island History, 1961-1969 and 1973-1982
From 1939-1942, 1961-1969, and 1973-1982, the Long Island Historical Society, the first iteration of the Center for Brooklyn History (later the Brooklyn Historical Society), published a periodic journal, called the Long Island Historical Society Quarterly in 1939-42 and, in the later years, The Journal of Long Island History. The journals include articles on historical topics concerning Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. Many of the articles, especially in the 1939-1942 volumes, include full or partial transcriptions of account books, correspondence, deeds, tombstone inscriptions, and other manuscripts from the Center for Brookyn History's collection and elsewhere. While there is a wide range of subject matter, perhaps best-represented in the journal are articles concerning the colonial period through the 19th century, American Revolution, Civil War, and African-American history. View an inventory of the journals of Long Island history here.

Photographs and printed matter, including reproductions of drawings, engravings, and paintings, featuring people from Brooklyn and beyond ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries.  Organized alphabetically by last name of the person featured in the portrait.  An index is available here in the Portrait Collection inventory. 

The Brooklyn and Long Island scrapbook collection is an accumulation of clippings from numerous Brooklyn and Long Island newspapers and magazines during the period circa 1860-1960.  The original clippings were assembled by staff members of the Brooklyn Historical Society.  Due to the deterioration of the original clippings, they now exist only on microfiche.  The collection numbers a total of 168 volumes, and its exhaustive scope makes it an excellent account of daily life in Long Island and Brooklyn from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. The collection is accompanied by a navigational card index, which is separated into two sections, one dedicated to Long Island, the other to Brooklyn.  Within each major division, the catalog is organized alphabetically by subject, individual, or business/organization.  Each card lists the volume and page numbers on which its described contents can be found. Newspapers and magazines represented in the collection include The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The Brooklyn Times, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s Weekly, Suffolk County News, The Long Island Forum, The Long Island Press, The World-Journal Tribune, and The New York Mirror, among many others. 

The street index is a collection of index cards containing the brief history of street names, name changes, extensions, etc. throughout Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs. This information can be particularly helpful to those conducting property research.

The  collection of voter registries represents the voting population in Brooklyn both before and after its consolidation as part of the City of New York.  Registries reflecting Brooklyn as an independent city, prior to consolidation, span the period 1872 to 1897. The collection covering post-consolidation is incomplete, ranging from 1900 to 1967.  An inventory of the registries, arranged by year, is available here. Access to individual registries is subject to their condition. The voter registries are organized numerically by ward number (pre-consolidation) or district number (post-consolidation). Each ward or assembly district is further broken down numerically by election district, then alphabetically by street.  Within each street listing, individual voters are listed by their residence numbers.  Some registries, particularly those dating from the earlier periods, are also accompanied by an alphabetical index to street numbers, as well as a description of election district boundaries. Each registry contains specific personal information regarding registered voters, including such details as a voter’s age; how long each voter has lived in the state, county, and district; as well as any special remarks deemed useful by the Board of Elections, such as whether a voter is an African American, and whether a voter is illiterate or disabled.  Some registries include further descriptive information, such as a voter’s height, weight, hair color, and distinguishing features. This collection is an especially excellent resource for researchers interested in Brooklyn’s housing history and/or genealogy.  Please note that the majority of the registries are in extremely fragile condition and may not be accessible.

The Center for Brooklyn History holds yearbooks from Brooklyn schools. Yearbooks from the former Brooklyn Collection are listed here and yearbooks from the former Brooklyn Historical Society are part of the Brooklyn Schools Collection.