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Official Website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means its official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 
    Research Guides

    Pennsylvania History

    The State Library holds an extensive collection of materials for researching Pennsylvania history – whether it is for a local area, county or a notable Pennsylvanian.  The first stop would be a quick search of the State Library's online catalog. Pennsylvania Newspapers also represent a wonderful resource for local history and our collections reach back into the 18th century.  

    State Library Online Catalog
    Pennsylvania Newspapers

    Digital Collections for Pennsylvania History

    Through the efforts of educational and historical institutions in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania history is becoming available on the Internet. The sites on this page lead to digital records, photographs, histories and scholarly articles.

    Pennsylvania State Documents

    The State Library has been a collector of Pennsylvania Government documents from the beginning of its history. The State Library under a Governor's mandate collects those documents that are for the general public. This includes reports, magazines, educational materials, brochures and a whole host of other types of printed materials. As the world becomes more and more an electronic repository, links to the electronic versions of these documents are available by looking in the State Library's online catalog.