The Grace Schmidt Room of Local History
How
It All Began
The
Kitchener Public Library opened the Grace Schmidt
Room of Local History on October 14, 1984. It
is named in honour of Grace Schmidt, a librarian
at the KPL for 35 years and a long time member
of the Waterloo Historical Society. Miss Schmidt,
a well-known authority on the history of Waterloo
County, was the driving force behind the development
of the GSR collection.
GSR
Resources
The
Kitchener Public Library has long been aware of
the importance of preserving the local history
of Kitchener and Waterloo County. The Library
has, in partnership with the Waterloo Historical
Society (WHS) and the Waterloo Region Branch of
the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS), developed
a collection of books, newspapers and other source
materials which document the area's history and
families.
Books
The
book collections in the GSR cover a wide variety
of topics from local and regional history, genealogy
and topics of local interest or significance.
Online
Genealogy Resources
Ancestry
Library Edition
Please come to the Main Branch to use Ancestry
Library Edition, a genealogy research tool containing
census, vital statistic and immigration records,
maps, directories, passenger lists and more, including
full text images.
Visit
these Genealogy
sites to extend your genealogical search online.
Census
Information on Microfilm
Personal
census information is available on microfilm for
Kitchener and the surrounding area for the years
1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1901.
Directories
and Telephone Books
Historic
and contemporary county and city directories and
telephone books for Kitchener and the surrounding
area are available for consultation.
Assessment
Records
Early
area assessment records, which were collected
for the purpose of taxation and land valuations,
are available in the GSR.
Historic
Building Inventories
The
GSR has several Kitchener Local Architectural
Conservancy Advisory Committee (LACAC, now "Heritage
Kitchener") and WHS historic building inventories
that document properties of historical or architectural
significance or designation.
Newspapers
The
GSR has an extensive collection of historic local
area newspapers available on microfilm. Indices
of births, marriages and deaths, translated from
some of Waterloo County's German language newspapers,
are also available.
Newspaper
Clipping Files
A subject
arranged local history newspaper clippings file
is available.
Waterloo
Historical Society Annual Reports
A complete
set of the WHS annual volumes, containing a wealth
of information about people, villages, towns and
past events in Waterloo County, is available for
consultation in the GSR.
Manuscript
Collections
The
manuscript collections of the Library and the
WHS include the private papers of individuals
and groups. These are a valuable primary source
of material of interest to scholars and genealogists.
Historical
Photographs
The
Library and the WHS maintain large indexed collections
of historical photographs in the GSR.
Oral
History
The
Library maintains its oral history collection
in the GSR. These tapes include interviews with
prominent local figures and community members.
The tapes are a wealth of genealogical and social
history information.
Yearbooks
The
GSR has an extensive collection of Kitchener high
school yearbooks. Please ask library staff at
the Level 2 Information Desk for assistance and
information on holdings.
Use
of GSR Materials
GSR
collection materials are for reference use only
and may not be removed from the library. Researchers
are reminded not to bring any food or drink into
the GSR due to the unique and archival nature
of our collection.
Our
Partners
Waterloo
Historical Society
The
WHS has kept its collection and archives in the
Library since the founding of the WHS in 1912.
The Library and the WHS have shared a common goal
of preserving local history. Access to the WHS
Collection is provided by the Local History Librarian
and the staff of the Information Services Department.
Waterloo
Region Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society
The
Waterloo Region Branch of the OGS houses their
collection of local and regional genealogical
and reference materials, including family histories,
cemetery and census transcriptions, church records
and local history books, in the GSR.
Where
to find the GSR
The
GSR is located on the upper floor (Level 2) of
the Main Library.
Staff
Karen
Ball-Pyatt, Local History Librarian
519-743-0271, ext. 252
The
Kitchener Public Library gratefully acknowledges
the financial support of the Waterloo Regional
Heritage Foundation for the preparation of an
inventory of manuscript collections and other
archival documents held by the Grace Schmidt Room
of Local History during the summer of 2006.
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