The Filson Library

The Filson Library is a collection of some 50,000 non circulating titles of local, regional, and national interest, focusing on the Upper South and the Ohio Valley. 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; a sheet-music collection of over 3,700 pieces, much of it written or published in Kentucky; 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 Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are well represented in our holdings.

Research Requests
Reference questions regarding this collection are handled on a first-come, first-serve basis and must be limited to requests that can be answered in an hour or two. Extensive research is not undertaken by staff members. Queries of this nature must be handled by a certified genealogist or a professional researcher of your choosing. Members of the library staff do not recommend or endorse any persons in this line of work, nor do we do appraisals on books or family heirlooms. These services are best performed by local collectors and antique dealers.

Research request fees are currently $15 an hour for members and $25 an hour for nonmembers. Please submit your request using the form below.

Library Usage Fees
Non-members are charged a $10.00 daily usage fee, Monday - Friday, for admittance to the library. Non-members are charged a $10.00 usage fee on Saturday when the Library is open.

Individual and Family-level memberships are charged a $5.00 daily usage fee, Monday - Friday. Filsonian memberships receive free research, Monday - Friday. All membership-levels receive free research on Saturday.

All fees are payable in advance.

Please note that rare library materials are not available on Saturdays.

For questions about the library's holdings, please
search our Online Catalog.

View samples of our Historical Sheet-Music Collection.

For simple research/genealogical requests, please use:
The Filson Historical Society Research Request Form

If you have a genealogy question, please contact:
Nettie Oliver, genealogical specialist

If you have a general reference question, please contact:
Kara Gossom

For all other questions about the library, please contact:
Judith Partington, head librarian
Cassie Bratcher, technical services librarian

The Filson Historical Society
1310 South Third Street - Louisville, KY 40208
Phone: (502) 635-5083 Fax: (502) 635-5086

Hours
The Ferguson Mansion and Office
Monday - Friday: 9 am. - 5 pm.
Saturday and Sunday closed
Library
Monday - Friday: 9 am. - 5 pm.
First Saturday of every month: 9 am - 4 pm