Interested in exploring Oklahoma’s storied history?
Metropolitan Library System has curated numerous Oklahoma resources, so you’re bound to strike information gold. Our Special Collections department maintains the Oklahoma Collection which is located in the Oklahoma Room on the 2nd floor of the Downtown Library. The collection contains books about Oklahoma and Oklahomans, or those written by Oklahomans, as well as maps, photos and other documents useful to the understanding of Oklahoma history.
Don’t forget to check out our newly reformatted Digital Special Collection for Oklahoma-related content that is only available at Metro.
Events
Looking for clues as to your ancestry? Come put our genealogical databases and print resources through their paces to learn about the places and faces of your family's past. Our resident Genealogical genius will give you the tools which you need to branch out your family tree for free.
Databases
Oklahoman Digital Archives (1901-2022)
This database contains full-color, digital archives of The Oklahoman newspaper. NOTE: To view today’s edition, visit metrolibrary.org/oklahoman. Search the archives of The Oklahoman, or browse individual issues. You can browse the newspapers by date or search by keyword across articles, advertisements, and photo captions.
Please note: Due to the large size of the archive, searches will need to be limited with a date range in order to return results.
Sanborn Maps
Created to assist fire insurance companies as they assessed the risk associated with insuring a particular property, Sanborn Maps provide information on more than 12,000 American towns and cities. Maps for Oklahoma cities go back to 1894. These maps includes details such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights and function of structures, location of windows and doors, street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.