Massachusetts Libraries 

Amherst

W. E. B. Du Bois Library
University of Massachusetts Amherst 
Amherst MA 01003
413-545-0150
An academic library with wide reference collection. Their strength is in the microfilm holdings that include the Mass. Archives Collection, some probate and town records from Franklin, Hampshire, and Suffolk counties, and special focus on the Conn. River Valley towns. Check their online guide to genealogy first.

Barnstable

Sturgis Library
3090 Main St., PO Box 606 
Barnstable MA 02630
508-362-6636 
The largest research library on Cape Cod. It has an extensive reference collection including extremely rare and one-of-a-kind documents including over 2,000 early deeds from Cape Cod towns beginning in the 1620s, ships logs, whaling journals, manuscripts, family histories, diaries, letters and correspondence, cemetery records, photographs, historical documents, maps and charts, as well as the collection of personal and research papers of author and historian Henry Crocker Kittredge. Their online catalog is part of a network on the Cape. Finding aids are available for most archival collections.

Boston

Massachusetts Historical Society 
1154 Boylston St.
Boston MA 02215
617-536-1608
The oldest historical society in the nation well-known for extensive holdings of personal papers from three presidents—John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Thomas Jefferson—the MHS also holds accounts of the lives of thousands of ordinary Americans. The collection is available to all in person, online, and through exhibitions and programs.

Boston Public Library
700 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02116
617-536-5400
BPL holds more than 23 million items, estimated to be among the three largest collections in the country, including books, maps, manuscripts, letters, drawings, and other original works dating back as early as the 10th century. Special collections are accessible to the public online at Digital Commonwealth.

For Genealogy, BPL has a collection of local and family history materials in print, in electronic format, and on microform. This includes published genealogies, town histories, immigration records, passenger lists, newspapers, and many other resources.

American Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society)
97 Newbury St.
Boston MA 02116
888 – 296 – 3447
user fee
Founded in 1845, NEHGS is the oldest genealogical library in the country. Its print and manuscript collections dating from the fourteenth century to the present are legendary. The online database houses billions of records spanning United States, the British Isles, continental Europe, and beyond, includes collections of early American genealogical records, published genealogical research journals and magazines, and records from Boston’s Catholic Archdiocese.
Members and the public can visit in person to conduct research in the Brim-DeForest Library which houses the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, an extensive collection of family history resources. Visitors can request to view materials in the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center, collections which focuses on New England Jewish history and heritage.

National Archives at Boston
380 Trapelo Road
Waltham, Massachusetts 02452
Toll Free Telephone: (866) 406-2379
Telephone: (781) 663-0144
Research room open by appointment only
The permanent records of Federal agencies and courts located in the six-state New England region and some federal military records pertaining to New England-based installations and units.

Haverhill

Haverhill Public Library 
99 Main St.
Haverhill MA 01830
978-373-1586
Good collection of published books for New England and an extensive holding of genealogical periodicals. They have the Massachusetts Vital Records to 1900. Access to the major genealogical databases online. The Mass. DAR Collection is no longer here as of 2009.

Lynnfield

Lynnfield Public Library
18 Summer St.
Lynnfield MA 01940
781-334-5411
Good collection of Essex County research material maintained by the Essex Society of Genealogist.

New Bedford

New Bedford Public Library
613 Pleasant St.
New Bedford MA 02740
508-991-6276
This library focuses on southeastern Mass., bordering Rhode Island towns, and French-Canadian material. They hold the local newspapers, Mass. Vital Records to 1900,and immigration records that documents the large Portuguese-Azores-Cape Verdean population. Their online catalog is part of a consortium.

Salem

James Duncan Phillips Library
Peabody Essex Museum
132 Essex St.
Salem MA 01970
978-745-9500 x3053
This is the premier repository for Essex County research. The have large print and manuscript collections focused on pre-1860 material. This is the facility for government records on Essex County including the original court records, customhouse records, maritime records, and (on microfilm) probate records. The paper catalog is in process of conversion to their online catalog.

Springfield

Springfield History Library and Archives
220 State St.
Springfield MA 01103
413-263-6800 X230
The holdings of the Conn. River Valley focus on Springfield, but include a large French-Canadian collection, Mass. Vital Records to 1905, large microfilm collection, and an extensive manuscript collection.

Taunton

Old Colony Historical Society
66 Church Green
Taunton MA 02780
508-822-1622
user fee
The “Old Colony” refers to Plymouth Colony, the focus of their collection that is now further refined to the Taunton area. It has a good local print collection and manuscripts that include some local churches. A general guide to their holdings is online.

Worcester

American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury St.
Worcester MA 01609
508-755-5221
This is the largest collection of U.S. printed material to 1876 in the United States. It has extensive newspaper and manuscripts holdings and a strong genealogical collection. A detailed guide to the collection by subject is available online. Their catalog is online, but see the caveat.