Welcome to Birmingham Archives & Collection online catalogue

On this website you can search for catalogue descriptions of items from the Archives, Local Studies, Photography and Early & Fine Print Collections held by Archives & Collections at the Library of Birmingham.

Viewing material from our collections

Archival material is available to view by appointment in the Wolfson Centre on level 4 of the Library of Birmingham. You can find out more about using the Wolfson Centre and how to book on the City Council webpages. Family History and printed Local Studies materials can be viewed without an appointment in the Heritage Research Area.

For records that are available in digital format, please visit our Digital Archive.

For general published book stock and journals, please see the Library catalogue.

Not all of our collections are available on the online catalogue or in our Digital Archive. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please email archives.heritage@birmingham.gov.uk.

Guidance for accessing some of our collections, such as searching for a building plan, can be found on our blog The Iron Room.

Language in our collections and catalogues

Some of our historic records contain discriminatory, inaccurate and outdated language which may cause offence. We are committed to addressing these legacy issues and reviewing our catalogues accordingly.

Closed records

Some records in our collections are closed because they contain sensitive personal information which comes under Data Protection legislation. If this is the case, records may be listed on the catalogue as 'closed' for either 80 or 100 years from the last date in the document. These records are not generally available for public viewing, but access may be provided in specific circumstances. This also applies to records listed as 'closed until assessed'. Fragile material is marked as 'closed (condition)' in the catalogue. We cannot make this material available. If we discover material to be fragile when we retrieve it, we will not be able to make it available to you. Please contact us before visiting if an item is marked as closed.

Archives and collections | Library of Birmingham opening hours | Birmingham City Council

How to use the Wolfson Centre for archival research | Archives and collections | Birmingham City Council