Sargeant Memorial Room - Our Collection

The purpose of the collection is to provide resource materials for individuals conducting local history or genealogical research in the Sargeant Memorial Room. The SMR collection contains a wealth of historical and genealogical research information that focuses on the City of Norfolk, the State of Virginia and surrounding states, such as Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia. The collection also provides material on the Commonwealth of Virginia and histories and census information for states contiguous to Virginia. Our policy of not circulating materials housed in the Sargeant Memorial Room is essential to ensure the collection and preservation of historic materials.

Types of Materials

The collection consists of materials that relate to the history of the Tidewater Area such as books, photographs, manuscripts, and maps. Most of the materials that are donated are accessible to the public or stored in a special location in the Library. To search our collection click on the Finding Aids tab at the top of this page.

Books - Our holdings emphasize genealogical and historical resources for Norfolk, Virginia, and surrounding states (NC, MD, and WV). Among our holdings are biographies that mainly focus on the state of Virginia, and introductory genealogy books. We offer a large selection of abstracts of Virginia and North Carolina county records, and a smaller selection of records from other nearby states. We have a small collection of fiction and literature relating to Virginia and written by Virginia authors. This collection is maintained in storage and can be retrieved on request. Our book collection also includes a complete set of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach city directories, as well as a sampling of directories from other cities in the region. High school and college yearbooks for Norfolk and other Virginia educational institutions are also housed here.

Electronic Resources

CD-ROMs - We currently have a small collection of CD-ROMS ranging from genealogical CDs created by Family Tree Maker to CDs created by researchers relating to Norfolk history. These CDs are available only in the SMR. Ask one of the SMR staff to view them.

Online databases - Our computers in the SMR and Norfolk Public Libraries offer a list of genealogical web sites on the Internet. We currently offer Ancestry.com to all patrons at any Norfolk Public Library branch.

Audiovisuals materials - Audio, slide, film and video materials relating to Norfolk and Norfolk history are acquired when possible and maintained as archival, non-circulating items. At such time as a viewing/listening facility is opened at the Main Library, these materials will be available to individual patrons and groups for in-library use only.

Microfilm - Our microfilm collection contains records dealing with Norfolk and the Greater Hampton Roads Region. We also hold Federal Census microfilms for Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Print indexes to early census records are available and Soundex indexes to the microfilm collection are available for Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Go to our Finding Aids: Microfilms to see our holdings.

Periodicals - Our periodicals section includes magazines and newsletters that focus primarily on genealogical subject areas and historical research. The collection also includes publications by local historical societies. Selected periodicals, such as the New England Historical Register, published by historical societies in other states are included in the collection as well. Please see our Finding Aids: Periodicals for a selected listing.

Photographs - Our photographic collection consists of pictures of buildings, neighborhoods, places, and events in Norfolk from the late 19th century to the present. The collection includes the works of Harry Mann, John Emmerson, James Murdaugh, Charles Borjes, H.D. Vollmer, Jim Mays, and Carroll Walker. We are currently pursuing a digitization project to allow our patrons greater access to our collection.

Public Records - Our collection of public records contains books, microfilm, and electronic sources. This includes census records from 1800 to 1930 and county and courthouse records. Manuscripts, Norfolk City Log Books, and Scrapbooks are also collected and available for public access. See our Special Collections and Findings Aids: Microfilm Collection for some of our holdings

Vertical Files - The Vertical Files contain newspaper clippings and pamphlets filed by subject. Although the bulk of the Vertical Files are devoted to Norfolk topics, there are also sections for Virginia and General interest topics. The date range for these vertical files starts in the 1950s and continues to the present. Selected copies of post and pre-civil war newspapers are also part of the collection.

Gifts and Donations to Sargeant Memorial Room

The establishment of the Sargeant Memorial Room (SMR), housed in Main Library of Norfolk Public Library, began in 1927 with only a small assortment of books and historical papers collected by William H. Sargeant. William Henry Sargeant was the first Librarian to be hired by the City of Norfolk in 1897 and felt very strongly that Norfolk should have a history room devoted to her history and her people. Since that time, the Sargeant Room has grown into an impressive collection of Norfolk and Virginia history by the generosity of individuals and organizations who wanted to give back to the community and see to it that records of Norfolk's past were preserved. The collection includes a significant photographic collection of some 60,000 images of Norfolk and surrounding Tidewater region from world-renowned photographers with many cherished images seen in local establishments.

We continue to expand the collection to meet the needs and desires of our patrons. We also engage in projects to promote greater access and ease of use for our collection so that everyone may appreciate it. We are always looking for books on history and genealogy for Norfolk, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Maryland; organizational records - cultural, business, and church; rare and/or significant books; genealogical records; family & personal papers - letters, diaries; newspapers for the Hampton Roads region, publications - newsletters; pamphlets, maps, blueprints, artwork, photographs of Norfolk and Hampton Roads region, posters, and even postcards. If you wish to give a monetary tax-deductible donation or a planned gift to the Sargeant Memorial Room, the Norfolk Public Library has set up the George H. Tucker Local History & Genealogy Endowment for the Sargeant Memorial Room and it is administered by the Norfolk Public Library Foundation. Your donation to the Sargeant Memorial Room will be appreciated greatly and will make a dramatic difference in the preservation of Norfolk History by raising the level of materials and service offered to all. We will be able to offer more books, conserve historic materials, offer more microfilm and periodicals, and digitize portions of our collection. We will be able to "Preserve our past, for our future." Please contact the staff or mail a completed form to the Sargeant Memorial Room if you wish to help the collection continue to grow. Click HERE for Donation and Gift form.