Library
The Filson's library holds a collection of some 50,000 non-circulating titles of local, regional, and national interest, focusing on Kentucky, the Ohio Valley, and the Upper South. Library holdings include a fine Civil War collection; approximately 1,500 maps, primarily of Kentucky and other southern states; some 3,000 reels of microfilm containing Kentucky census and tax records, as well as the Draper and Shane collections; over 840 newspaper titles, including one of the largest 19th-century Kentucky newspaper collections in original form; over 3,500 family histories; and almost 4,000 genealogy files on Kentucky families. While Kentucky is the focus of the library collection, many titles and files concern other states. Kentucky was a migration route over which thousands of people passed during America's westward expansion, and states such as Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania are well represented in our holdings.
Fees
Non-members are charged a $10 daily research fee.
Individual and Family-level memberships are charged a $5.00 daily research fee.
Filsonian-level memberships receive free research visits.
Research Requests
Reference questions regarding this collection are handled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Limited research can be conducted by staff for a fee, currently $50 for up to two hours, payable in advance. Extensive research is not undertaken by staff members. Patrons wishing research of this nature conducted must visit in person or hire an outside researcher.
Donations
Donations of material are welcome. The vast majority of The Filson's collection has been acquired through gifts. If you have books, pamphlets, maps, or other printed material that you think The Filson might be interested in, please contact the library at (502) 636-0471.
Members of the library staff do not do appraisals of books or family heirlooms.
