Local and family history library service
You and your heritage
- Local history ("local studies") deals
with all aspects of life in the area, from earliest times right
down to the present day. It is the story of the landscape and
its communities, and of the changes that have taken place
over the years. It is about people and events, places and
buildings.
- Family history (genealogy) concentrates on
tracing people down the centuries.
Local History Units
at two libraries offer you a special local and family
history service:-

- Formby Library (for North Sefton). This Unit
covers the area from Crossens, Churchtown and Marshside, through
Southport, Birkdale and Ainsdale to Freshfield, Formby and
Hightown. Local History direct phone line 0151 934
2119.
- Crosby
Library (for South Sefton). This Unit includes communities
along the coast from Hightown through Blundellsands, Great
Crosby, Waterloo, Seaforth, Litherland and Bootle, plus inland from
Ince Blundell and Little Crosby through Lunt, Sefton Village,
Netherton, Orrell, Aintree, Melling, Maghull and Lydiate. Local
History direct phone line 0151 257 6401.
Sefton Metropolitan Borough is in the historic county of
Lancashire.
Who can use the Local History
Units?
Anybody can. The local history service is freely available
for you to use, whether or not a member of the
library. However, we do ask you to "sign in" each
time you visit to use the material, by putting your name and
address in our register.
There are many reasons why you may wish to use the
material:
- to find out about the history of your street or house
- to trace your family tree
- to prepare a school or college assignment
- to seek background information for a talk or article
- to undertake academic or scholarly research
- to satisfy your curiosity about something in the district
Novice or expert, you are very welcome.
To find out more about our service, view our
user guide. We have also put together a
selection of
useful local and family history links, to help
you seek information for yourself. For detailed research we can
supply you with a list of local independent searchers who would
charge a fee. (Please note Sefton MBC is not responsible for
research carried out by third parties.) We can, however, deal
with limited written enquiries involving searches of our
collection for our
standard fee.
Last Updated on 5/20/2010