Library

Come visit one of our best resources – our library! We welcome the public at our facility. Our volunteers look forward to helping you discover what we have to offer for your genealogy research.

We are located in Calgary, Alberta, at 712 – 16 Avenue NW. This is a few blocks east of SAIT on the north side of the street. It is in the same building as Radiocrafts. There are parking spaces directly behind the building. Click here to view Google Maps

Online Library Catalogue

Our collection (over 12,000 items) is broad but does have an emphasis on materials pertaining to Alberta, the United Kingdom, Ontario, and the rest of Canada.  Our online catalogue includes all books and reference material held in the library.

Go to AFHS Library Catalogue

Hours of Operation

We are open on Thursdays from 10 am to 2 pm and Saturdays from noon to 4 pm. We close on long weekends and at Christmas. Our summer hours vary. Please check the calendar for upcoming open times or closures due to weather. Our phone number is 403-214-1447 if you wish to call to make sure that we are open.

Special opening times can be arranged in advance for out-of-town visitors or other organizations by contacting

Borrowing Material

Unless marked as Reference, items may be signed out by AFHS members for a one-month loan period.

Resources Available

  • Journals and newsletters (some in digital format; members can access some of these on our Exchange Journals webpage)
  • Family histories
  • Local histories
  • General reference books
  • Maps, atlases, and gazetteers
  • The collection of Calgary Heritage Branch, Daughters of the American Revolution
  • The collection of Calgary Branch, United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada
  • Microfiche and microfiche reader

Exchange Journals Program

For many years, Alberta Family Histories Society has participated in journal and newsletter exchanges. We send the organizations a copy of Chinook Arch, and they send us copies of their journals or newsletters. It is becoming more and more common for these exchanges to happen electronically. This has enabled us to make some of these exchange publications available online as a members-only benefit. If you are an Alberta Family Histories Society member, you can access this webpage here.

Copying & Scanning Equipment Available for Member Use

  • A multifunction printer/scanner/copier (can scan up to 11 by 17 inches) (Epson ET-16600)
  • An overhead scanner (Fuijtsu ScanSnap SV600), great for scanning fragile books or scrapbooks
  • A flatbed scanner (17 by 22 inches) which can scan slides and negatives (Epson Perfection V600)

For assistance to use this equipment, set up an appointment by emailing

Donations

We are very thankful for donations of family history materials as they are the backbone of our collection. Please read our policy document prior to bringing materials to us. It can be accessed here.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our library or to volunteer, contact

Selected Resources from Our Collection

Catalogue

Our catalogue can be searched by keyword, title, author or subject. This is a simple, basic search function. For best results:

      • Use as few words as possible. For example, search for “Calgary” instead of “Calgary, Alberta”.
      • If your query includes the word “and”, try using “&” instead of “and”.
      • A keyword search will produce the largest set of results. To reduce the number, try searching in only the title or subject field.
      • Results can also be refined by using a similar term or phrase in the subject search. For example, instead of searching for “genetic genealogy,” search for “DNA.”

Title Author Subject Format Call No.
AFHS
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