Go to catalog

Open More
Than Books

Now Open

About The Exhibition

Nominations Now Open

Learn More

Novacco Maps Now Digitized

Explore the Collection

Explore Our Fall Public Programs

Attend an Event

Fall Adult Education Classes

Browse Calendar
A family tree appears literally as a tree. Each leaf of the tree bears the name of a family member.

Genealogy Research at the Newberry

Get Started

Open to All

The Newberry's collections, programs, and exhibitions have been free and open to all since 1887. Curious people from all over visit to research topics of interest, discover their family history, take classes, or learn something new and unexpected.

About the Newberry

Upcoming Events

View Calendar

Event—Public Programming

The Art of Memory: Everyday Life During the Pandemic

Nov 07, 2024

6:00pm–7:00pm

Hybrid – Ruggles Hall and Zoom

Event—Public Programming

Indigenous People and the Chicago Portage

Nov 21, 2024

6:00pm–7:00pm

Hybrid – Ruggles Hall and Zoom

Event—Public Programming

Chicago Punk: Photography, Art, and Design

Dec 05, 2024

6:00pm–7:00pm

Hybrid – Ruggles Hall and Zoom

Event—Public Programming

Newberry 101: An Introduction to Research at the Newberry

Dec 07, 2024

9:30am–10:30am

At the Newberry – Rettinger Hall

Event—Public Programming

Celebrate the Holidays with the Shakespeare Project of Chicago

Dec 07, 2024

10:00am–11:30am

At the Newberry – Ruggles Hall

Adult Education Classes

All Classes

Event—Adult Education

Emigration & Immigration: The Story of Your Immigrant Ancestors

Taught by Jacquie Schattner

Nov 20, 2024

6:00pm–7:30pm

Online

Event—Adult Education

Triumphs of Black American Agriculture: 1724 to the Present

Taught by Ahmad Bracey

Weekly on Thursdays, Nov 07–Nov 21, 2024

5:30pm–7:30pm

At the Newberry

Event—Adult Education

Beginning Genealogy: A Crash Course

Taught by Marsha Peterson-Maass

Nov 16, 2024

10:00am–1:00pm

Online

Event—Adult Education

A Spanish Surrealist in Chicago: Remedios Varo's Magic and Science Fiction

Taught by RoseAnna Mueller

Nov 23, 2024

1:00pm–2:30pm

At the Newberry

Event—Adult Education

Speculative Nonfiction and Family Stories

Taught by Anca L. Szilágyi

Dec 04, 2024

6:00pm–7:30pm

Online

News

Now Accepting Nominations for the 2025 Pattis Chicago Book Award

The $25,000 prize is open to a range of genres, including history, biography, social sciences, poetry, drama, graphic novels, and fiction.

Visit page

On Our Blog

All Blog Posts

Blog—Source Material

Reviving Art from Grime to Glory

Blog—Source Material

A Conversation with Comic Book Artist Jim Terry

Blog—Source Material

Finding Pattis Chicago Book Award Nominees in the Newberry Collections

Blog—Source Material

Fact-Checking Royko

Our Collection Is Your Collection

Whether it's a letter from Michelangelo or a doodle drawn in a nineteenth-century textbook by a procrastinating student, primary sources bring the past to life in vivid detail. You’re free to explore these historic materials online or in person at the Newberry.

Explore

Research Your Family History

The Newberry is a leading center of genealogy research. Wherever you are in the process of researching your family history, we can help.

Learn How

Digital Collections

View and download tens of thousands of high-resolution images from the Newberry collection.

Explore

Visit

More than 600 years of human history are waiting to be discovered in the Newberry's reading rooms, exhibition galleries, classrooms, and event spaces.

Plan Your Visit