Welcome to the Local Studies service of Bath & North East Somerset Libraries.
There are three main sections within the Local Studies pages:
- Introduction to the Local Studies service, which includes details of the facilities, access and catalogues
- Local History and Special Collections, with information about the wider collections within local studies that reflect the history, culture and heritage of Bath.
- Local Images & Photographs working with Bath in Time we have an entire image bank ready to be explored.
Introduction to the Local Studies service
Introduction
The Local Studies service is responsible for two main collection areas within the Library service: Family History and Local History & Special Collections. Small collections of books of local interest are held by our branch libraries, but the main holdings are at the Central Library in the Podium.
- The Family History collections include sources of national data such as: local census returns, the St Catherine’s House Index (births, marriage and death indexes - aka GRO Index or Civil Registration Index) and International Genealogical Index (IGI). Local sources include commercial directories, parish registers and electoral registers.
- The Local History and Special Collections contain a wide variety of materials – maps, books, photos, letters etc – relating to Bath, the local authority area, and the surrounding counties through history and up to the present day. Further information on the collections can be found at the Local History and Special Collections page.
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Access
The Local Studies Service is part of Bath Central Library and is open to the public during the normal opening hours. Some services may be restricted during reduced staffing periods outside Monday-Friday 9.30 am – 5 pm. Library opening hours are available here.
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Facilities
Microfilm and microfiche machines are available for public use. We do not operate a booking system.
- An open study area is available for the use of all Library customers, although some material must be consulted in a supervised study area – please follow the Library staff’s instructions.
- The Library operates both colour and black & white photocopiers – they are coin operated and will copy up to A3. Please note that some material may not be photocopied, either due to copyright restrictions or the fragility of the material.
- No items from the Local Studies collections may be copied in any way – by tracing, photography, scanning or photocopying – without permission of a member of staff. You may be asked to complete a permission form before proceeding.
- Pencils must be used at all times whilst consulting Local Studies material.
- Laptops may be used in the Library on battery power or at designated power points only. We currently do not offer a connection to the internet through a wireless connection.
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Catalogues
Most of the principal holdings of printed Local Studies material – books & pamphlets – have been added to the main online
Library Catalogue. All Bath & North East Somerset Local Studies books on this catalogue have shelfmarks starting with a letter B, L, G, S or W.
There are also several local catalogues and hand lists currently only available in printed format in the Library itself. These include:
- Index to Photograph Classes – printed index to photographs and prints by subject only. Photographs and prints are not catalogued individually.
- Local Index – card index to articles, prints, scrapbooks and some newspaper articles. Listed by subject.
- Manuscripts – a hand list that is currently still under development, but the draft form may be consulted on request of the Local Studies Librarian.
- Music - card index sorted by composer only or a printed catalogue to the manuscript music
- Maps and plans – card index to the Maps Collection by place then date
- Rare Books Collection – hand listed in shelf order only.
In addition, the Georgian Newspaper Project has an online index to the Georgian editions of the Bath Chronicle newspaper covering approximately 1770 to 1799.
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Research Services
We do not currently offer a research service. We will aim to assist you with enquiries as much as possible. You can contact Local Studies in person at Bath Library, or via the email address and phone on the left. We cannot undertake to complete time-consuming searches or in-depth research on your behalf, but are happy to give you guidance on sources and directions for your own research.
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