Our reference book collection focuses on the following subjects:

• County-specific reference books for Pennsylvania counties (Township histories, church records, will abstracts, and more)

• Surname-specific reference books (Example: John and Hannah Armont Hall from Delaware to Centre County, PA information based on family genealogies by Nancy Lee Stover)

• General genealogical and historical reference books (Immigration, armed conflicts, regional history, and more)

To check whether the Pennsylvania Room has a book about your subject of interest, use the search bar on the library's website to search for the topic (ex: railroads, Corl family).

Indexes help researchers locate records that will aid in their research, and often include information from multiple sources. The Pennsylvania Room provides access to the following genealogical indexes, primarily on computers:

• Centre County Death Notices and Obituaries Indexes (1821-2021)

• Centre County, Pennsylvania Marriage Index (1764-2005)

• Centre County Births Index (1893-1905)

• Centre County Death Records (1893-1905)

• Centre County Genealogical Society Cemetery Series

• Centre County Probate/Estate Files

Holdings include county newspapers dating back to 1821 in a variety of formats: microfilm, bound volumes, and individual issues. While obituaries and marriage announcements are indexed, newspapers must be searched manually for other research purposes. Some fragile newspapers have been removed from public areas and can only be accessed/handled by staff.

Holdings include:

• Bellefonte Daily News

• Bellefonte Morning News

• Bellefonte Patriot

• Bellefonte Republican

• Berichter Und Unzeiger

• Centre Berichter

• Centre Daily Times

• Centre Democrat

• Centre Reporter

• Democratic Watchman

• Democratic Whig

• Howard Hustler

• Keystone Gazette

• Millheim Journal

• Philipsburg Journal

• Philipsburg Daily Journal

• Snow Shoe Times

• Weekly Hornet

The Pennsylvania Room is home to several research compilations from experienced genealogists. The most-used collections are as follows:

Spangler Collection

• Fully-indexed genealogical research collection compiled in the early 1900s

• Records include tombstone inscriptions for 113 county cemeteries, newspaper obituaries (1826-1854 and 1926-1942), marriage records, bible transcriptions, church records, family records, and tax lists

• 250,000 card catalog indexes collection by surname, must be manually searched

J. Marvin Lee Genealogical Collection

• Fully-indexed genealogical research collection compiled between 1940-1970

• Records include family group sheets, documentation, and correspondence

• Card catalog indexes collection by surname, must be manually searched

CCLHM serves as caretaker for some of Centre County’s oldest government records to ensure that they remain accessible to people in Centre County. These records include the following:

• Marriage license applications (1885-1990)

• Tax assessment records (1801-1965)

• Probate/estate files (1800-1990)

• Orphans’ Court dockets (1802-1971)

• Civil and criminal court papers (1800-1875)

• Road petitions (1800-1956)

A complete inventory of original government records including others not listed above is available onsite

Visitors to the Pennsylvania Room are also granted access to the following digital resources:

Centre County Online Information System: Also known as "WebIA", this website can be used to search for digitized Centre County government records. Training from Pennsylvania Room staff is required prior to use due to the pay-per-click cost of the resource to the library.

Ancestry Library Edition: This library database connects users to records from Ancestry.com without paying for a personal subscription. It is available to use onsite at all CCLHM locations and at Schlow Centre Region Library. Available onsite only.

FamilySearch: As a FamilySearch Affiliate Library location, you can access over 300 million genealogical records on FamilySearch that are only viewable at several hundred research facilities in the country. Available onsite only.

Atlases for individual counties in Pennsylvania (historical and more recent), as well as large-format and small-format maps of towns, townships, and boroughs in Centre County. Atlases can be searched via the library’s website, while large- and small-format maps can be searched using a print inventory.

Stored in file folders, these collections of clippings from local and national newspapers are related to topics of local interest; they are most useful for local history research. These files must be searched manually and have not been digitized.

Topics include events, business and industry, people of interest, towns, townships, boroughs, architecture and buildings, clubs and organizations, and more.

This collection is composed of loose-leaf papers containing information about Centre County families. Includes copies of records such as letters, bible transcriptions, family history essays, and more. Organized by surname or first initial of a surname. These files have not been indexed.

The Historical Museum's collection is located in the same building as the Pennsylvania Room. It is composed of more than 35,000 objects, including images, printed materials, business records, apparel, textiles, artwork, furniture, dolls, dinnerware, and electronic media. Though it is not a research-oriented collection, some of its contents may be relevant to researchers. An inventory of Museum objects is not currently available for search by the public; staff can complete searches of holdings when requested in advance via email: paroom@centrecountylibrary.org.