The Special Collections & Archives Department at Haverhill Public Library maintains a wide variety of local history and genealogical resources, in both physical and digital forms. Highlights of the collections include:
Special Collections has different open hours than the rest of the library, but our online resources are always available! Click on the images below for Special Collections news and to learn more about our collections.
Unable to come in? We accept obituary and research requests online:
Submit a Research Request
Preservation Week is an annual event during the week of May Day that celebrates the care of collections and emergency preparedness for cultural heritage. While 2025 Preservation Week has passed (it was April 27-May 3), HPL Special Collections is always thinking about the preservation and protection of our collections. Since Preservation Week last year, we have […]
The Special Collections team is happy to announce that we will have limited open hours on one Saturday per month! The next Saturday we are open is May 17, 2025 (during HPL Comic Con!). Researchers are welcome to drop in during this time without an appointment, though we recommend calling ahead if you are traveling a […]
Since its inception in 1875, the Haverhill Public Library has maintained a collection of books relating to local history, genealogy, and native poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Shortly after the library’s inception 1873, the local Whittier Club began an official Whittier Collection at the Library around 1887. In 1916, the Pecker Collection, dedicated to New England, state, and town histories, was started and was later expanded in 1932 to include family histories and genealogical material. In 1923, the Haverhill Collection was formally established to preserve existing library material and to collect additional material for future generations. In 1969, with the construction of a new library building, plans called for two rooms to house the then 20,700 volumes that made up the Whittier, Local History, and Genealogy collections. In 1997, with the renovation of the library, Special Collections was moved to the Third Floor where it presently resides.