The NSHS library collects all available city/county directories for all communities and counties in the state. The coverage is from territorial days to within the last two years. The library does not purchase city directories so we depend upon donations from civic organizations and other donors. A database (Nebraska City Directories) has been developed to give an accurate account of our holdings and to help researchers in verifying the existence of these directories for town/county and years of interest. The researcher may input a town/city or county and will be given a listing of all the years we have coverage for that town, city or county.
The listings in most cases may be long, since for every year that we have a listing for a town/city or county there will be one entry. The year, the name of the directory as well as the Call # (and Cutter #) will be given for each entry. City directories in this state may publish the listings of residents for nearby communities or rural residents. This database identifies where the directory listings for that town/city or county may be located for any designated year.
Search City Directories Research for Hire from NSHS
Since most of the city directories are still in their original format or only a few cities were microfilmed by the historical society, they are not available for interlibrary loan. If you are unable to visit our facility to do research yourself, you may write to our Reference Department and request a search of these records. The fee for this service is $10.00 per search (one name searched in one directory) for Nebraska residents and members of the Nebraska State Historical Society, and $20.00 per search for non-residents who are not members of NSHS.
To request a search, send the appropriate fee, along with the name of the individual, town/city or county where they lived, and the directory year you wish searched, to Reference Department, Nebraska State Historical Society, P.O. Box 82554, Lincoln, NE 68501. Include your mailing address with your request. A limit of three separate searches may be sent at one time, but the fee accompanying the request for three searches must total three times the fee for a single search.
We will accept personal checks, money orders, MasterCard or Visa (send the following information: type of card, name as shown on card, card number, and expiration date).
Do Not Send Credit Card Information Via Email
For general questions about our city directories holdings, you may email us at afaling@nebraskahistory.org. Email requests are routed through our regular mail system and are answered within two weeks. We will not accept requests for specific searches via email.
Nebraska State Historical Society Library/Archives
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 82554
Lincoln, NE 68501
Reference Room: 1500 "R" Street
Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: 402-471-4751
FAX: 402-471-8922
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