Skip to main content

Genealogy & History Department

33 W. Broadway St.
Shelbyville, IN 46176
317-398-8144

  • Monday - Thursday: 9 am - 9 pm
  • Friday: 9 am - 7 pm
  • Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm
  • Sunday: Closed

 

A cozy library room with chairs, a fireplace, bookshelves, and a reading table.
Library study area with shelves full of binders and a round table with chairs.
An office with a large printer, computers, bookshelves, and chairs.
A room with bookshelves, books, flag display cases, a coat stand, and a framed map.
An old sepia photograph of a group of children and teachers posing in front of a brick building, likely a school from an earlier era.
A cozy library room with chairs, a fireplace, bookshelves, and a reading table.
Library study area with shelves full of binders and a round table with chairs.
An office with a large printer, computers, bookshelves, and chairs.
A room with bookshelves, books, flag display cases, a coat stand, and a framed map.
An old sepia photograph of a group of children and teachers posing in front of a brick building, likely a school from an earlier era.

One of the Largest Sources of Genealogical Documentation in Indiana

The SCPL Genealogy and Local History Department provides housing for documentation dating as far back as 1822 for Shelby County and surrounding counties. It remains one of the largest sources of genealogy documentation in the state of Indiana.

Currently, over 3500 family and history folders are available for the general public to access within our facility. These files contain invaluable information from Shelby County’s earliest organizations and settlers – many who traveled from Ohio, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Virginia and Kentucky. 

Reference Resources Available in the department

Aged photo of a woman with visible deterioration spots.

*These books and materials cannot be checked out from the department. We are happy to help you make copies, use the microfilm readers, or print material from online sources. If you are unable to visit the department, make a genealogy search request and we will do what we can to assist you!

  • Ancestry.com is Free in the Library
  • We are a Family Search. org Affiliate Library
  • Newspapers.com Free in the Library
Census Records (317.3)Family Histories (929.2) [*This collection is being digitized](https://shelbycountylibrarygenealogy.omeka.net)Indiana Histories (977.2)
Indiana Histories (977.2)Shelby County Histories (977.273)Shelby County Newspapers (newspaper file) from 1853
Telephone BooksCity DirectoriesPlat Maps
School YearbooksChurch RecordsOther Counties' Records
Military RecordsBirth RecordsMarriage Records
Obituary Books 1850 to presentCemetery Records

Online Resources

The library is in the process of digitizing portions of our Genealogy collection so that our information can be retrieved online. 

We are digitizing: 

Vintage portrait of a woman with an updo hairstyle, wearing a high-collared ruffled dress, sepia-toned photograph.

The Family History Folders in the Genealogy and History Department of the Shelby County Public Library contain a collection of gathered and donated material from individuals with roots in Shelby County, Indiana.

These files provide rare insight into the lives of people and organizations with connections to Shelby County and the surrounding region. They include original and reproduced material such as: family trees, photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, certificates, family reunion logs, articles, scrapbooks, and written stories.

*Please note that we cannot digitize all of the information that is located in our Family Files collection due to copyright laws. Documents that are not digitized may include but are not limited to articles that contain personal information of someone still living, published articles, or information initially gathered through a paid service.

*You may always contact us to see if we have more information on an individual or family name.

Other places to search :