An inventory of the Cleveland Public Library's extensive city directory collection is now available through the Library's online genealogy research page.  A treasure-trove of information for genealogists and historians, city directories can be used to research addresses and occupations of ancestors, historical advertising, property listings and brief information on companies. Someone wanting historical information about his or her street could, for example, use the 1936 city directory to look up the names and professions of everyone on the street in that year. The Library's collection is one of the largest in the country and includes all directories published for Cleveland and suburbs, as well as an extensive collection of directories for other cities in Ohio and throughout the United States.

As a member of the Federal Depository Library Program the Cleveland Public Library houses a wide variety of publications from all agencies of the federal government. Since it began participating in the program in 1886, the library has consistently selected a high percentage of all available publications, making it one of the more comprehensive collections in the Cleveland area.

In a new video produced by the Government Printing Office, "Easy As FDL: Free Information, Dedicated Service, and Limitless Possibilities,” people familiar with this program were interviewed and asked to express their opinions about what makes these depository libraries so unique and essential to the American public. To watch this short video and learn more about the U.S. Government Printing Office, the Federal Depository Library Program please click here:

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Historians, genealogists and anyone curious about Cleveland history can now search the full text of all issues of the Call and Post (1934 to the present) instantly. The research possibilities are endless and amazing: newspaper research that would have formerly been extremely time-consuming, if not totally impossible, is now done in a matter of seconds! Do you remember reading about a family member or an old neighbor in the Call & Post? Now you can find the article instantly, as long as you remember the name. Search features allow you narrow your search by date and document type (article, obituary, marriage, editorial, etc.)  To search 1934-1991, use the Call and Post database. To search 1992 to the present, use the Ethnic Newswatch database. Remote access available to CPL cardholders.