Library Collections

Visitors may browse over 70,000 books and journals relating to:

• Archaeology
• Architectural history and historic preservation
• Children’s literature
• Conservation and museum studies
• Early American history, including African American and Native American history
• Fine, decorative, mechanical, and folk art
• Garden and landscape history
• Historic trades
• Research reports on Colonial Williamsburg properties

Visitors are welcome to browse the 70,000 items that make up the Rockefeller Library’s Reference and Circulating Collection while on site. Colonial Williamsburg staff, affiliates, and William & Mary faculty, students, and staff may borrow materials from the library. For questions on borrowing from the library, please see our circulation policies or contact the circulation staff at [email protected].

Manuscript collections include documents from the 17th to the early 19th centuries covering many aspects of Tidewater Virginia culture and beyond, from Patrick Henry's "Resolves" to the correspondence of Williamsburg residents. Of special significance are the William Blathwayt Papers (1631-1722), consisting chiefly of letters written to Blathwayt by colonial governors and others; and the John Norton and Sons Papers (1763–1798), containing correspondence and business papers of the firm of John Norton and Sons, merchants, of London and Virginia, including letters, bills, accounts, receipts, and bills of lading.

The manuscript collections are discoverable through finding aids on the library website and the Archival Resources of the Virginias site, and in Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (1993). Many items from Special Collections have been digitized and may be accessed through the online resources links. To consult Special Collections in person, please contact the Head of Special Collections at [email protected] to request an appointment.

With items dating from the late 19th century through the early 21st century, the collection includes:

• Colonial Williamsburg’s analog photo archives (1930s-1990s)
• Photographs and drawings of Williamsburg from the pre-restoration and restoration eras
• Photographs and drawings of architectural precedents studied in conjunction with Williamsburg’s restoration
• Visual formats such as lantern slides, autochromes, stereographs, scrapbooks, and photo albums
• The Albert Durant Photography Collection
• Donated collections that offer additional perspectives on the African American community in Williamsburg, decorative arts donors and collectors, architectural study of Williamsburg, and the tourist experience in Williamsburg

Much of the Visual Resources Collection has been digitized and may be accessed through the online resources links. If you would like to consult the collections in person, please contact the Visual Resources Librarian at [email protected] to request an appointment.

• The development of the physical buildings and spaces of the Restoration, including architectural and archaeological history, landscape design, and interior design
• Historical interpretation of the colonial history of Williamsburg and of the restoration
• The mission and programs of the Historic Trades
• The visitor experience
• The decorative and folk art collections of the restoration buildings and art museum
• The administrative, business, and legal history of the restoration and the Foundation
• Oral histories of Colonial Williamsburg employees and Historic Area residents

As a corporate archive, the collection exists principally to serve the research needs of Foundation staff, although requests from external researchers will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that records for the Corporate Archives are not included in the online catalog. For assistance finding materials relevant to your research, please contact the archivists at [email protected].

• Colonial Naturalist (1965)
• The “Harvard Footage” of Duke of Gloucester Street recorded by John A. Haeseler (1931)
• Music of Williamsburg (1960)
• Williamsburg Restored (1951)
• Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot (1957)
• The Williamsburg Craft Series, including The Cooper's Craft, Basketmaking in Colonial Virginia, Gunsmith of Williamsburg, Silversmith of Williamsburg, Hammerman in Williamsburg, and The Musical Instrument Maker of Williamsburg

Please note that records for items in the Media Collections are not included in the online catalog, though a growing percentage of the collection may be accessed via our Digital Collections. For assistance finding materials relevant to your research, please email [email protected].