Searching the Catalog
Look for books, microfilm, periodicals, archive collections, and more at NYPL Classic Catalog using a subject or keyword search. The following subject searches may be a good place to start:
- Poland -- Genealogy -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
- Polish Americans -- Genealogy.
- Poland -- Maps.
- Poland -- History -- 1795-1864.
- Poland -- History -- 1864-1918.
Or, try keyword searches like "Polish surnames," "Polish American history," or "Poland gazetteer," for example.
Many materials from the catalog can be requested via our expanded Scan and Deliver services. Eligible items will have a Request button in the Library's Shared Collection Catalog.
Guidebooks in the Catalog
Polish Roots (Korzenie Polskie) by Call Number: *R-USLHG E184 .P7 .C5 2014ISBN: 9780806320045Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Sto Lat by Call Number: *R-USLHG E184.P7 J46 2010ISBN: 9780615360997Publication Date: 2010-04-21A lavishly illustrated workbook, Sto Lat: A Modern Guide to Polish Genealogy offers a plan for researching at least one hundred years of family records, and is a compilation of techniques developed over thirty years of research and teaching. These are tried and true techniques used for clients and with patrons at the Bloomfield Hills Family History Center. Both traditional and digital research techniques are presented. Common research questions are answered and suggestions are offered to help novice and advanced researchers find ancestors in North America and Poland.
Polish Genealogy by Call Number: *R-USLHG E184.P7 .S93 2013ISBN: 9781490436494Publication Date: 2013-08-25When did your Polish ancestors immigrate, from where did they leave, why did they leave, how did they get here? These are questions we all hope to find the answers. The four steps outlined by the author will give a simple method to do your Polish genealogy research and will help you find your ancestors. The methods used are designed to give the researcher the tools to be more successful in finding their Polish origins.
The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide by Call Number: *R-USLHG E184.P7 A419 2016ISBN: 9781440343278Publication Date: 2016-02-12Trace your Eastern European ancestors from American shores back to the old country. This in-depth guide will walk you step-by-step through the exciting--and challenging--journey of finding your Polish, Czech, or Slovak roots. You'll learn how to identify immigrant ancestors, find your family's town of origin, locate key genealogical resources, decipher foreign-language records, and untangle the region's complicated history.
Newspapers and Periodicals
- Monitor polski : dziennik urzedowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej Ludowej byCall Number: *QPA 96-156 Library has: 1992- ; *ZAN-*Q2096 Library has: 1920-1991.Publication Date: Began publication in 1918Polish Monitor: official journal of the People's Republic of Poland
Genealogy Databases
Ancestry Library Edition, Access billions of names in thousands of genealogical records. Collection highlights include Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945; Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books Index, 1742-1964
Family Search, Operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), this free website offers a variety of genealogical records.
Genealogy Indexer, Search historical business, address and telephone directories from Central and Eastern Europe, memorials to Jewish communities destroyed during the Holocaust, Polish and Russian military documents, including lists of officers and casualties. Also includes community and personal histories, and Polish secondary school annual reports and other school sources. More genealogical resources are being added daily.
- Ancestry Library Edition
Access billions of names in thousands of genealogical databases including Census and Vital Records, birth, marriage and death notices, the Social Security Death Index, Passenger lists and naturalizations, Military and Holocaust Records, City Directories, New York Emigrant Savings Bank records, and African American and Native American Records. Library version of Ancestry.com.**Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
- Family Search This link opens in a new window
Operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), this free website offers a variety of genealogical databases, access to unindexed images of genealogical records, the Social Security Death Index, wiki entries describing various types of genealogical research, and access to the Family History Library's catalog. Free access to the 1940 United States Federal Census.
- Genealogy Indexer This link opens in a new window
Search historical business, address and telephone directories from Central and Eastern Europe, memorials to Jewish communities destroyed during the Holocaust, Polish and Russian military documents, including lists of officers and casualties. Also includes community and personal histories, and Polish secondary school annual reports and other school sources. More genealogical resources are being added daily. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
Digital Collections
Inside a Peasant home, Warsaw. NYPL Digital Collections
The New York Public Library Digital Collections is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Shared Collection Catalog
The Shared Collection is a joint initiative that combines the extensive research collections of The New York Public Library, Columbia University, Princeton University, and Harvard University—members of the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP)—in one catalog and allows patrons from all four institutions to search and request materials from these combined holdings for delivery to their home institution.
Through the catalog, users can discover nearly 11 million volumes from NYPL's research collections, plus an additional 8 million volumes from Columbia and Princeton. With the addition of Harvard's collections, users now have access to more than 22 million volumes.
Accessibility for Print Disabilities
For researchers with print disabilities, the Library has resources and services available upon request. The following services are available:
Digitization of Select Research Materials
Researchers who are homebound or have a print disability or visual impairment can explore many of our research collections online and request digitization of specific items of interest. To request the digitization service, email accessibility@nypl.org. Please note that you must be a patron of the Andrew Heiskell Library. This digitization service only includes material belonging to the research collections and does not apply to branch/circulating collections.
Screen Readers and Enlargers
Every public PC at all New York Public Library locations is equipped with JAWS screen reading software and MAGic software for enlarging the screen, changing colors and contrast, and screenreading.
Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
The Andrew Heiskell Library offers popular reading materials in accessible audio and braille formats, as well as free membership to the Bookshare database of over one million accessible texts. It also offers individual coaching and a large variety of group workshops on topics related to accessible technology. Check the listings on our website, call 212-206-5400, or email talkingbooks@nypl.org