Using the library for research

Further resources

A list of quick reference materials to assist researching Birmingham's history:

Location: Birmingham Collection 05.2

  • Birmingham Post and Mail Yearbook (1950 to 1998)
  • Birmingham Red Book (1866 to 1903)
  • Cornish’s Birmingham Yearbook (1912 to 1940)

Contains details such as election results, members of committees and a Birmingham biographical section.

Location: Birmingham Collection 05.6

  • Birmingham and Midland Institute, Archaeological Society transactions and proceedings

A series of essays and reviews from 1870 onwards exploring the archaeology, architecture and topography of Birmingham and the surrounding counties.

  • Birmingham Historian (1987 to 2009)

A local history journal published with accompanying index. A varied range of historic Birmingham topics, many of which are in an easily digestible form.

Location: Birmingham Collection 08.2

  • Birmingham Faces and Places (1888 to 1894)

A series of volumes containing articles and images of a biographical and topographical nature. A good source if investigating Birmingham in the late nineteenth century.

Location: Birmingham Collection 56

  • List of buildings in Birmingham of architectural or historic interest (1986)

List compiled by the Department for the Environment in 1986. Useful for identifying when a property listed was built along with a summary of its architectural features.

Location: Birmingham Collection 71

  • Showell’s Dictionary of Birmingham (1885)

A collection of brief accounts of features and figures in Birmingham’s history.

Especially useful when tracking the history of a Birmingham church or school.

Location: Birmingham Collection 78

  • Birmingham Biography newspaper cuttings collection with accompanying index

A series of newspaper articles featured in the Birmingham newspapers and compiled by library staff from 1872 onwards.

Location: Quick Reference shelves

  • Woodward’s Index to Biographical and Personal Notices up to 1914

An alphabetical index of Birmingham names providing reference to the profession/trade, year of birth, date of death and reference to relevant volumes and journals containing biographical information.

Location: Birmingham Trade Directory sequence, East Mobile Press

  • Birmingham Trade Directory Collection (1767 to 1974)

Typically divided into five sections - Commercial, Trades, Private addresses, Street listings and an official section of establishments and institutions. Useful for confirming where a company operated and compiling a picture of a company’s activities in the city.

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