Research Library & Archives

Our research library is one of the most important features at the Rock Island County Historical Society and is used extensively by local and visiting historians and genealogists, news media, businesses, and the academic community. The wealth of materials in the archival library continually grows and a well-informed volunteer staff provides assistance.

Our hours are Wednesday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.  Please contact the library before you visit to verify our hours, as they can change due to special events, as we are a volunteer organization. There is an admission charge of $5 per day for adult/couples, to help us offset our operating costs.   We are a non-profit society and we receive no city, county, state or federal funding. We are only funded through our memberships and donations. Non-members can join at any time to enjoy free use of the research library.
RICHS' collection includes:

• 12,000+ books on regional history and genealogy
• 300+ archival collections
• Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive Project with Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, Putnam Museum and Davenport Public Library in Davenport, Iowa,   and the Musser Public Library, Muscatine, Iowa.
• Newspapers, 1857 to the present (Erie Review, Milan Independent, Port Byron Globe, Reynolds Press, Rock Island Argus, Rock Island Daily Union, Moline Van Gazette, and a number of additional papers for limited years).
• Vertical files -- indexed by township, including people, families, businesses, organizations, and historical subjects
• City directories, county census records
• Plat maps
• Postcards
• Photographs
• School yearbook collections
• Family history collections
• Mayflower Descendant Collection
• Art, artifacts, video and audio history
• Posters and broadsides collections

In addition to our holdings, the Rock Island County Illinois Genealogical Society stores their collection at the RICHS Archives and Library