Special Collections

Individuals outside the BPLS service area may submit a request to BPLS for copies of materials from BPLS’ archives and special collections. Contact your local public library to complete and submit an ALA Interlibrary Loan Request Form. The form can be faxed to 540-583-5631 or emailed to [email protected].

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For assistance with identifying bibliographic information (i.e. coverage dates, issue number, volume number, reel number, etc.) for the materials you would like to obtain, access our catalog, and use the following table to locate the applicable catalog record(s):

Archive/Collection Enter this into the Search box Record Selection

Bedford Bulletin

  • Articles
  • Obituaries
Bedford bulletin newspaper Select the second Newspaper record (it shows “1 Non-Checkout”) for information on the scope of coverage
Census Records Virginia Federal Census Under Format on the left hand side of results page, select Projected to see scope of census records held by BPLS
Church Minutes Books United Methodist Church Minute Books (1837) The record provides the microfiche reel number for each applicable date range
Deeds and Wills Deeds and Wills Under Format on left hand side of results page, select Microfiche to see records of holdings
Marriage licenses Bedford County marriage records [1754-1899] This record shows the microfilm reel number for each applicable date range
Slave records Slave records, 1853-1866 This record shows how the slave records are arranged
Surveyor’s records Surveyor’s records, 1754-1881 This record shows the volume number for each applicable date range
World War II military service records Military records of Bedford County men with Armed Forces of World War II vol 2-3 This record shows the volume number for each range of surnames

 

BPLS also has a non-circulating Virginia Reference Collection. To view this collection, access our catalog and take the following steps:

Step 1: Select Advanced Search:

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Select Local Call # from the first dropdown box, enter “VA REF” in the search field, and press the blue Advanced Search button:

 

Questions? Contact Cassandra Matthews at 540-586-8911 or [email protected].