Originally housed in one of the rooms of the Schenectady History Museum, The Grems-Doolittle Library was expanded through a 3,000-square-foot addition in 1991. The library collects, preserves, and makes available materials that document the people, places, and history of Schenectady County and its environs.

Library holdings include books pertaining to local history, genealogies and family histories, periodicals, oral histories, diaries, newspapers, yearbooks, wills, naturalization records, maps, photographs, personal and family papers, and records of Schenectady County schools, businesses, churches, and other organizations. Guides to a number of our collections are available on our Collections & Catalog page. Our Grems-Doolittle Library Collections Blog also features highlights from some of our collections.

We invite you to visit us at 32 Washington Avenue in the Stockade Historic District in Schenectady. Visitors of all ages are welcome, and the library is staffed to help researchers find material on a variety of local history and genealogical research topics. Our Research Resources page provides some basic information about using our library. Can’t stop by? You can make a request for our staff and volunteers to conduct research on your behalf.

Make An Appointment!

The Library is open to the public by appointment. To make an appointment, researchers should contact the librarian by phone or email.

Appointments made at least two business days in advance.

Researchers must include which materials they plan to use when making the appointment. Materials will be pulled for researchers.

The library will be closed for librarian’s lunch.

Everyone in library must wear a mask.

Donations of Materials

If you are interested in donating books, original documents, photographs, or other materials to the library, please contact 518-374-0263, option 3, or email our Librarian. The Library collects records of enduring value which document the people and history of the city and county of Schenectady, and to a lesser degree, materials related to the surrounding area in New York State.

Questions

If you have any questions about the collections or services of the Grems-Doolittle Library, please contact 518-374-0263, option 3, or email librarian@schenectadyhistorical.org