Welcome to
Darlington
Centre for
Local Studies
Heritage Trail The Darlington Heritage Trail 
is available here
You will need the map too!
Don't forget to come in to the Centre for Local Studies in Darlington Library to see our displays, database of photographs of the town and much more!
Enjoy the trail!
Online catalogue now available 
Local Studies books and pamphlets have now been added to the online library catalogue, click onto the Catalogue link above.
Following 3 years of hard work by staff and volunteers the main card catalogue for Local Studies is available online.However if you are looking for photographs, maps, newspaper indexing or family history resources please ask staff to help you use the card catalogues when you visit.
Item request form If you would like to request Local Studies items either in advance of your visit or when you come in, please use this form for guidance. The information staff require to locate the item you are interested in is marked with an asterix symbol *
Please click here for our form.
Starting family history? 
Group visits The Centre for Local Studies welcomes group visits during opening hours. Special interest groups or school and college visits are always welcome. Group visits can be tailored to suit the requirements of the group whether you wish to do some research into a particular topic or have a general look at the resources we hold in the department, we have something to suit everyone.
Teachers and pupils can be shown around all departments of the Library and can do research using old newspapers, maps, photographs, census returns and other resources.
Please contact us at local.studies@darlington.gov.uk or telephone 01325 349630
Local and family history introduction The Centre for Local Studies has a large and wide ranging collection of material relating to the Borough of Darlington and surrounding areas.
The department aims to collect and preserve historical and contemporary material and make it available to anyone with an interest in local or family history. The resources (click the link on the left) include books, photographs, maps, posters and ephemera, which tell the story of the Borough of Darlington.
Staff are always available to assist with enquiries and help with the use of microfilms and other materials.
There are changing displays with a local theme each month and visitors are encouraged to look around and enjoy the pictures, paintings and books on display and ask to see related items in the collection.
Visitors should note that taking photographs of items in the collection is not permitted. If copies are required please ask the staff who will advise on copyright. Photocopies or printouts can often be made for personal use and for a small charge, subject to copyright restrictions. Please discuss with staff if reproductions of images are required for other reasons.
Some photographs from our Local Studies collection 
New display in Local Studies 
Bookplates display
Also known as Ex Libris (from the Latin phrase “from the library of”), bookplates are small decorative labels inserted into the front of a book as a mark of ownership. They are thought to have been first used in the 16th century when a book was a rare, and therefore precious, possession.
The earliest styles are mainly heraldic, featuring coats of arms and Latin mottoes. Later bookplates were more likely to embody the artist’s style and the personality of the book owner.
On display throughout December 2019 are examples of some of the bookplates in the Local Studies Collection, including some that belonged to local people you may have heard of such as Henry Pease or Francis Mewburn.
Some are loose, some in albums and others still firmly attached to a book. Our final display of the year is for booklovers, artists and local historians.
Around the walls in Local Studies 
Other North East Library Collections Need information about other areas? Find links to other local history collections of Public Libraries and Archives in the North East of England;
https://neheritagegroup.wordpress.com
Research Service Current displays & events 
To see what's on in Local Studies, please visit the Events Page
WW1 Remembered 
Like many towns Darlington suffered a devastating loss during the First World War. Of the many Darlington men who enlisted more than 1,100 did not return. A project to commemorate the Darlington men who died in the war has taken place at Darlington Library’s Centre for Local Studies. Following an appeal, local crafters donated hundreds of knitted and crocheted poppies, and staff invited local people to visit the Centre to find out more about an individual soldier and label a poppy in his memory. These poppies were on display in 2015, 2016 and 2018 for the final time.
For the last twelve years historian Stephen Nicholson has been compiling a database of information about the Darlington men who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War. Using resources in Darlington Library’s Local Studies Centre and the National Archives, Stephen has recorded the names, addresses and occupations of the men who died. Wherever possible Stephen has included a photograph of the man and an extract from the relevant battalion’s war diary written on the day of his death. Stephen’s research has been published by the Northern Echo and is available to search for free at www.thenortheastatwar.co.uk .
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