NSHS is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln so finding parking can be difficult while classes are in session.  There is metered on-street parking or parking garages nearby.  Handicapped parking is located at the rear of our building.

In order to best tell the stories of Nebraskans, NSHS collects a wide variety of materials in a number of different formats.

Our collection includes: 

• Books
• Maps
• Photographs
• Audio visual material
• 3D objects
• Personal papers
• Government records

 Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

• Patrons are required to register daily at the Reference Desk.
• Coat racks and lockers are available to secure your belongings.
• No briefcases, purses, or bags may be taken into the Research Room.
• Only pencils are allowed. Other writing utensils are strictly prohibited.
• No food or drink is allowed.
• Laptop computers are allowed in the Research Room. The use of personal scanners and copiers is strictly prohibited.
• Staff produced photocopies and scans of documents are available for a fee upon request.
• The use of personal cameras is allowed on a LIMITED basis.
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You are welcome to come to our Research Room for research and take photos/scans with your phone or pay for copies in person. If you are unable to do research in person, our staff will conduct the research for a search fee.

• Basic search fee – $20.00 – a single record (ex: obituary, marriage, or other record types)
• Complex search fee – $50.00 – a broad search on a topic requiring consultation of multiple sources (ex: homestead records, probate records, and other record types)

This non-refundable fee is paid before any research is performed.

Our full fee schedule can be found here.

• Photocopy services are available except for oversized or fragile items.
• All items must be copied by staff.
• Copy orders will be filled as soon as possible, depending upon the size of the order and staff availability.
• Patrons may either pick up their order or make arrangements to have the material mailed.

Yes.  Paper copies of items on microfilm are available for 25 cents per page.

We are happy to answer your questions regarding Nebraska history.  You can send an email to our Reference Department at [email protected].  If you do not have email access, you may leave a message with the Research Room at 402-471-4751.

We understand that not everyone has access to email. You may leave a message with our Reference Department at 402-471-4751 or send a letter to the following address:

Nebraska State Historical Society
Reference Department
1500 R Street
Lincoln, NE 68508

No. We cannot provide responses to your questions over the phone. Research can take time.  What can appear to be an easy question, may turn out to involve several hours of research.  Any phone calls we receive will be treated like all other requests and completed in the order in which they are received.

No. We do not accept donation drop-offs unless you’ve made prior arrangements with a curator. 

Please email [email protected] with information regarding your offer and a curator will contact you.

We have computers in the Research Room and in the hallway of NSHS for patron use. You can access Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com, as well as any items that we have digitized, such as photos, maps, and some manuscript items.  

Digitized items may be found here.

No, material from NSHS collections must remain in the Research Room. Researchers can borrow reels of microfilm through public and institutional libraries. See the Interlibrary Loans page for more information.

No, NSHS a does not employ a professional historian. Our reference staff are on hand to assist you with your research questions and requests.

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

No.  Nebraska didn’t start recording births and deaths until 1904.  Those documents can only be obtained by contacting Vital Records at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.  Prior to 1904, no such documents existed.

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Yes, we do. Patrons can view the descriptive records of the inmates at the State Penitentiary. 

You can consult the parolee index to search for your ancestor’s name.

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Yes! NSHS holds over 3,500 individual Nebraska newspaper titles on nearly 40,000 reels of microfilm. Titles cover the entire state and date from 1854 (the territorial period) to the present. Note that in some cases issues of any particular newspaper may be missing. 

Researchers also have access to Newspapers.com on the public computers in the Research Room and the computer in the hallway. This online newspaper archive allows researchers to easily search through newspapers from the 1700s to present day. 

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Yes, we have marriage records from territorial times through present day, depending upon the county. Please check the county government records inventory for availability.

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

NSHS has homestead records can be found on Ancestry.com.

Please consult this indexed database to search for your ancestor’s name. 

If your ancestor isn’t found in the database, they may have purchased their land from the railroad.  We have the purchase contracts on microfilm for Burlington and Missouri River Railroad. 

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Yes, we do. Our library has a wide variety of county/town/community histories. These books recount the local history and may contain genealogical information.

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Yes, but it depends on the county.  NSHS holds naturalization records for many counties, but not all.  Please check the county government records inventory to see if we have those records for your county.  If we do not, the records are still located at the district court for the county of jurisdiction.

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Yes, we do. The NSHS library collection holds over 3,000 published and unpublished family histories, biographical material, and reminiscences. 

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

NSHS holds the following types of maps in our collection:

• Pre-Territorial and Territorial maps of the United States and Nebraska
• State maps from statehood to the present day
• County, City, Town, and Village maps from pre-1867 to 1980s
• Original Nebraska Sanborn Maps

Please check our online map collection (Maps | History Nebraska Digital Archives) or contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Yes.  We have the service cards for all service members that served from the Civil War through World War I, as well as the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) rosters and burial cards. 

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.

What a great question!  Older houses can be very intriguing. If you are looking for past ownership, the best place to look would be the county register of deeds.  You can check our government records inventory for your county to see if we have those records here.  If we don’t have those records, please contact the county Register of Deeds. 

Please contact the Reference Department for assistance.