The Library has scanned some of its high-demand historical documents and made them available online as PDFs. Examples of documents in such areas as the Civil War, New York State Census, Documents, Government, History, Laws, Native American materials, and Natural History, as well as information on how to search for more, see Digital Historical Documents from the Collections of the New York State Library.
Historical documents can be found in many of the Library collections, including:
Dutch Colonial Records: The New Netherland Project is a Dutch translation program that translates, edits and publishes the records of the 17th century New Netherland Colony.
Government Documents: The State Library has been a repository for both State documents and Federal documents since the early 1800s. Most State documents from 1995 on are available online.
Manuscripts and Special Collections: This unit was established in 1881 to preserve the Library's unique and historically valuable collections - manuscripts, rare books, maps and atlases, prints and photographs, broadsides and posters, and musical scores. These collections document the history of New York State from the 17th century to the present and illustrate the history of many topics related to American history, literature, science and the arts.
New York State Newspapers: The State Library has a large collection of New York State newspapers from the 18th century to the present. The Library also maintains a database of newspapers on microfilm and in print.
While the Library's collection of State documents is composed mainly of published materials (books, periodicals, newsletters, official reports, etc.), a sister institution, the New York State Archives collects a different type of State documents. The Archives is a repository for records of State government that have legal or historical value. Never intended for distribution, these are the records that document the day-to-day business of an agency - memos, correspondence, files, ledgers, photos, plans or blueprints, etc. Many State agencies routinely transfer their older records to the State Archives, once they are no longer needed for regular business.
The State Archives is a separate institution from the State Library, although both are part of the New York State Education Department and are housed in the same building.
New York State Archives Web site.
Many other institutions - historical agencies, public libraries, and colleges - throughout New York State have collections of historical interest. Although these collections are not physically located at the State Library or the State Archives, some information about them can be found in Excelsior, the Library's online catalog. (To search only the HDI and not the Library and Archives collections, choose "Historic Documents Inventory," the last option on the catalog login page.)
More about the Historical Document Inventory.
New York State Library