City Directories contain address by address listings in a town or city. Researchers use city directories to gather information about individuals and the towns where they lived. Directories include names, addresses, and occupations of individuals as well as information about local government, churches, businesses, schools and other organizations.
The State Library owns directories for many different Pennsylvania cities and towns from the 1800's to the present on microfim and in print. Search for city directories in our online catalog.
Below are a few digital and print examples:
To find city directories in the State Library Catalog:
Hint: Small towns may have been included in directories of larger nearby towns. If you don't find a directory for the town you are researching, search the directories of a larger nearby town.
Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest and Fold3 have digitized city, church, business and professional directories available. Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest and Fold3 are availalbe onsite at the State Library of Pennsylvania. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania employees may search HeritageQuest and Fold3 remotely using our A-Z databases page.
Other places to search for digitized city directories: