Webpage last updated: August 17, 2024
In addition to local libraries, museums, and historical societies, students may find the following resources useful as they conduct their history day research.
Bureau of Archaeological Research, Division of Historical Resources
R. A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
(850) 245-6444 · http://dos.myflorida.com/historical/archaeology/
The Bureau conducts research, prepares reports, develops programs, and curates the State's collection of artifacts from archaeological sites.
Claude Pepper Library
636 W. Call St.
Tallahassee, FL 32302
(850) 644-9305 · http://claudepeppercenter.fsu.edu
The Claude Pepper Library, Archives, and Museum preserve and interpret the collections of former State and U.S. Senator Claude Pepper, providing a rich record of 20th-century politics in Florida and the nation.
Florida A & M University Libraries
1500 S. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Tallahassee, FL 32307-4700
(850) 599-3376 · http://www.famu.edu/library
The FAMU Library System houses more then 500,00 print and non-print items and serves as a collection place for U.S. government publications.
Florida Association of Museums
P. O. Box 10951
Tallahassee, FL 32302
(850) 222-6028 · http://www.flamuseums.org
The FAM website is ideal for locating museums and historical sites in Florida.
Florida Atlantic University Libraries
777 Glades Rd.
Boca Raton, FL 33431-0991
(561) 297-3785 · http://www.fau.edu/library
The FAU Library System include an array of primary and secondary sources, including several special manuscript collections relating to noteworthy individuals.
Florida Folklife, Division of Historical Resources
R. A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
(850) 245-6333 · http://flheritage.com/Folklife
The Florida Folklife documents and presents folklife, folklore, and folk arts of the state. The Folklife Collection, curated by the Florida State Archives, contains research files and audio and video recordings from the 1930s to the present.
Florida Gulf Coast University Libraries
19501 Ben Hill Griffin Pkwy.
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
(239) 590-7610 · http://library.fgcu.edu
The FGCU Library System complements a general collection of in-house and online resources, the library's special collections include materials dealing with the southwest Florida region.
Florida Historical Society and Library of Florida History
435 Brevard Ave.
Cocoa, FL 32922
(321) 690-1971 · http://www.myfloridahistory.org/library
As the oldest cultural organization in the state, the Florida Historical Society operates a library that contains an extensive collection relating to Florida, including volumes, maps, manuscripts, and photographs. Unfortunately, most materials are not available online.
Florida International University Libraries
11200 S.W. 8th St.
Miami, FL 33199
(305) 348-2451 · http://library.fiu.edu
The FIU Library System house rare books, manuscripts, maps, and photographs as well as numerous special collections associated with noteworthy individuals.
Florida Master Site File, Division of Historical Resources
R. A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
(850) 245-6440 · http://dos.myflorida.com/historical/preservation/master-site-file
The Site File has records about historic structures and archaeological sites in Florida. While it does not house primary sources, it is an avenue to finding resources.
Florida Museum of Natural History
Powell Hall, University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-2710
(352) 846-2000 · http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu
This Museum maintains biological, archaeological, and ethnographic collections relating to Florida and the Caribbean.
Florida State University Libraries
105 Dogwood Way
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2047
(850) 644-2706 · http://www.lib.fsu.edu
Strozier Library, the main facility at Florida State University, contains more than two million books and periodicals, more than 150,000 sheet maps, nearly four million micro-materials, and more than 500,000 government documents.
George A. Smathers Libraries
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7001
(352) 273-2525 · http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu
Smathers Library houses books, archives, documents, and a digital library dealing with state, federal, and international topics, especially Florida and the Caribbean.
Institute on World War II and the Human Experience
Department of History, Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2200
(850) 644-5888 · http://ww2.fsu.edu/
The WWII Institute houses documentary material, diaries, letters, artifacts, photos, and newspaper clippings relating to individuals who served in the war and civilians on the home front.
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Miami Dade College, 300 NE 2nd Ave., Room 8406
Miami, FL 33132
(305) 237-7732 · http://www.wolfsonarchives.org
The Wolfson Archives’ mission is to collect, preserve, catalog, and make accessible film and video materials which document Florida’s history and culture.
Museum of Florida History, Division of Cultural Affairs
R. A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
(850) 245-6400 · http://www.museumoffloridahistory.com
As the state history museum, MFH manages two sites in Tallahassee—the Main Gallery and Knott House—both of which rely on artifacts and other primary sources to interpret Florida history.
Orange County Regional History Center
65 E. Central Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32801
(407)-836-8500 · http://www.thehistorycenter.org/
The Orange County Regional History Center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and a member of the American Alliance of Museums. The History Center includes a museum in a historic courthouse, the collection of the Historical Society of Central Florida, the Joseph L. Brechner Research Library, the Emporium Gift Shop, and Heritage Square park.
Reichelt Program for Oral History
Department of History, Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2200
(850) 644-4966 · Reichelt Oral History Collection | DigiNole (fsu.edu)
This program presently has more than 1,000 interviews relating to the history of Tallahassee, Florida, World War II, and other topics. It also serves as an archive for several independent oral history collections.
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 392-7168 · https://oral.history.ufl.edu
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program includes more than 6,500 interviews in its archives. It is dedicated to gathering, preserving, and promoting living histories of individuals from all walks of life, and the collections feature several hundred topics.
Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum
Florida A&M University
1601 S. Martin Luther Kind Jr. Blvd.
Tallahassee, FL 32307
(850) 599-3020 · Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum (famu.edu)
The Black Archives houses more than 500,000 archival records and thousands of artifacts reflecting African and African American history.
St. Augustine Historical Society
271 Charlotte St.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
(904) 824-2569 · http://www.saintaugustinehistoricalsociety.org
The St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library preserves the finest collections of printed, microfilmed, manuscript, digital, and pictorial materials relating to Florida history in a non-governmental repository.
State Library and Archives of Florida
R. A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
(850) 245-6700 · http://dos.myflorida.com/library-archives/research · http://www.floridamemory.com
The State Library’s collections include more than one million books, reference materials, and state and federal documents and regulations. The Florida Collection includes 60,000 books, manuscripts, maps, memorabilia, and periodicals pertaining to the state. The Archives is the official repository for state government records. It also houses an excellent collection of private manuscripts, local government records, folklife materials, genealogical resources, and a photographic collection with three-quarters of a million images and more than 2,000 movies and videotapes. Its Florida Memory site provides many of the holdings online.
Thomas G. Carpenter Library
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL 32224-2645
(904) 620-2616 · http://www.unf.edu/library
The Carpenter Library collections include nearly 1 million volumes, audiovisual resources, serials, maps, and electronic journals and books as well as 1.3 million microforms.
University of Central Florida Libraries
P. O. Box 162666
Orlando, FL 32816
(407) 823-2562 · http://library.ucf.edu
The UCF library features numerous rare book, music, art, and book arts collections; holdings that deal with Florida and local history; and special collections dealing with unique topics. It is a partner in the "Central Florida Memory" project.
University of Miami Libraries
1300 Memorial Dr.
Coral Gables, FL 33124-0320
(305) 284-4722 · https://library.miami.edu/
The Archives and Special Collections Department maintains 50,000 rare books and publications; 500 manuscript collections; 100,000 photographs; 5,000 maps; 2,000 architectural drawings; and other archival materials.
University of South Florida Libraries
4202 E. Fowler Ave.
Tampa, FL 33620-5400
(813) 974-2729 · http://www.lib.usf.edu
The USF Library System includes more than one million items in its special collections and considerable government documents holdings.
University of West Florida Libraries
11000 University Pkwy.
Pensacola, FL 32514
(850) 474-2424 · http://library.uwf.edu
Pace Library, the main facility, has 650,000 volumes, 1.2 million microforms, 6,000 serials, and 830,000 items in its special collections. It also is a state and federal regional depository.