Local History at Your Fingertips

Always wanted to learn more about local history and beyond but never had the time? The Library's Anne T. Kent California Room maintains a rich digital archive, opens a new window featuring thousands of photographs, oral histories, maps and ephemera. You can browse through thematic digital albums or search for a specific theme or topic.

Here are some resources curated by our archivists in the California Room to get you started:

eNewsletter

Discover new facets of Marin County History via the Anne T. Kent California Room's Local History eNewsletter, opens a new window

Oral History Collection

Explore our Oral History Collection and be inspired by Marin Residents who lived through the 1906 Earthquake, opens a new window and the Great Depression., opens a new window

Women's Suffrage

Learn about local and national Women's Suffrage Leader Elizabeth Thacher Kent, opens a new window as we celebrate the centennial of the 19th Amendment.

Marin County Maps

Check out our high resolution Marin County Maps, c.1849-1980, opens a new window

Notable County-wide Maps:
Hiram Austin's 1873 Map of Marin, opens a new window
George Dodge's 1892 Map of Marin, opens a new window
W. B. Walkup & Son's 1911 Map of Marin, opens a new window

Image Collections

Time travel through our local history image collections, opens a new window, including virtual photograph albums.

New Collections:

West Marin Architect Sim Van der Ryn, opens a new window
The Country Club at Bear Valley (1890-c.1930), opens a new window
The John Muir Trail, opens a new window
Larkspur, c.1910, opens a new window
Cartoon Maps of Marin by Ted Hubbard, opens a new window
Olema & Bear Valley (Jim Staley Postcard Collection), opens a new window
Camp Taylor & San Geronimo Valley ( Jim Staley Postcard Collection), opens a new window
Early Railroad through Marin & Sonoma (Isaac Shaver Photo Album), opens a new window
19th-Century San Rafael (Isaac Shaver Photo Album), opens a new window

Additional Repositories and Curriculum Support for All Ages

Calisphere, opens a new window provides free access to California's digital collections (images, texts, and recordings), which can be used for research, teaching, and exploring the history around us. You can search over one million items, or browse by topic., opens a new window

What was daily life like in California during World War II?, opens a new window
How did early cultures in California interact and change with each new group of settlers?, opens a new window
What did it mean to be Chinese in California during the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?, opens a new window
Who were the Californios?, opens a new window
What did the Civil Rights Movement in California look like?, opens a new window
Calisphere also has special resources for educators, opens a new window, including historical essays, lesson plans, and teaching tools.

The Internet Archive, opens a new window provides free access to 20 million books, 4.5 million audio recordings, 4 million videos, and 3 million images. With so much to explore, here are a few of our favorites which you might enjoy during these stuck-indoor times.

Math Class Then and Now, opens a new window
Visit the Feature Film Archive for films, shorts, silent films, and trailers, opens a new window
Get Lost in a Maze, opens a new window
Listen to some live music, opens a new window
Before we could skip through the commercials, opens a new window