The Bloomfield Public Library houses a variety of materials chronicling
Bloomfield as well as New Jersey history and genealogy. Some of the material is
in the Reference area and citations are accessible through the
On-line Catalog.
Other materials are located in the Special Collections Room. While
there is a database of monographs in Special Collections, a variety
of files and indexes must also be used for access to the materials in this
area. Among these are:
The Bloomfield File,
located in the Special Collections room, has numerous pieces relating to
Bloomfield history. This file contains biography files, files relating to
industries in town, information on notable local families, industries,
religious institutions, organizations, history, schools, etc. It has an
index to it's folders and some of the entries in the file.
The Bloomfield Obituary File gives citations for obituaries in the
Independent Press and Bloomfield Life, the two Bloomfield weeklies.This
card file, maintained by volunteers, indexes obituaries from the 60's to the
near present. An invaluable source of relatives names and citations on
people who lived in town or nearby.
City Directories of Bloomfield are a valuable guide to directory
listings in town. Located on the main floor. First
edition in the Library's collection is 1903. These directories ceased
publication in 1971.
The Bloomfield Biography Card File
contains citations to noted Bloomfield figures in both
newspapers and its companion, the Bloomfield
Biography Files located within the Bloomfield File.
Bloomfield Newspapers
on microfilm are located in Special Collections.
These include the
Independent Press, the Bloomfield Life
and early publications such as the
Bloomfield Citizen and Record.
An index of the Bloomfield Independent Press,
updated until 1990 is also on the main floor.
The Star Ledger beginning in 1990 is accessible on the
Internet within the Library only.
High School Yearbooks are located in Special Collections and begin in
1908. There are gaps in the collection. Call us if you find an old one you don't
need!
Other sources
on Bloomfield history can be found at the
Bloomfield
Historical Society Museum, located at the the Bloomfield Public Library
above the Children's Division. Follow the link for more information on the
Historical Society Museum. Two other sources for Bloomfield history are the
New Jersey Historical Society
and the
New Jersey Room of the
Newark Public Library.
Other sites online also provide some excellent information on Bloomfield.
Research for residents who live outside of Bloomfield is performed for
a fee. The research fee is $5 and the photocopying fee is $.25. Additional amounts
may be assessed depending on the complexity of the request (to be determined by the
Supervisor of Public Services). Call the Reference Desk at 973-566-6200
or email the Reference Department.
