Libraries

The amount of information that is available about genealogy and local history varies significantly between the various libraries in Simcoe County. You should become familiar with what resources are available in the local library closest to you, or perhaps the one closest to where your ancestors resided. Although the smaller libraries may not have a large collection, they can sometimes contain valuable resources (published or unpublished) specific to their area that didn’t make it to a larger central facility.

The following is a list of the libraries in Simcoe County. Some of these libraries have a single location, while others have more than one branch.

Barrie
Base Borden
Clearview
Coldwater
Collingwood
Essa
Innisfil
Midland
Orillia
Penetanguishene
Ramara
Severn See Coldwater
Springwater
Tay
Wasaga Beach

The Toronto Public Library also has several excellent collections of resources for genealogists and family researchers.

Toronto Reference Library
Ontario Ancestors (formerly The Ontario Genealogical Society) Collection (Toronto Reference Library)

For the National Library and Archives of Canada – see Resources – Archives.