1. LIBRARIES
1.1. Devon Library Services: Main Local Studies Collections
The two main collections both have specialist staff and separate accommodation for local studies material. They provide leaflet and web guides to their collections which give details of opening hours and collections.

Westcountry Studies Library
Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PQ. Tel: 01392-384216. E-mail: Westcountry.Library@devon.gov.uk
Devon's main local studies collection with detailed coverage of the four Western counties. Rich in early printed materials, it also houses the collections of the Devon and Cornwall Record Society.

North Devon Local Studies Centre
Tuly Street, Barnstaple. Tel: 01271-388607 E-mail barnlocstudy.library@devon.gov.uk
Shares accommodation with the North Devon Record Office and the North Devon Athenaeum Library. It covers north Devon and Exmoor.

Railway Studies Collection
Newton Abbot Library, Bank Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2RP.
Tel: 01626-336128. E-mail Railway.Library@devon.gov.uk e-mail: raillib@devon.gov.uk
The Collection covers all aspects of railways. It is comprehensive for the West Country with substantial coverage of the remainder of the UK.

Devon branch library collections
Most branch libraries in the county hold some local studies material. This includes boxes of materials for neighbouring parishes copied from originals in the main collections. Some libraries, such as Exmouth, Newton Abbot and Bideford have considerable local studies collections. A listing of Tavistock Library's family history resources is available.

Lending collections
Material in the main collections is for reference only but lending copies of many titles are available through the county's lending libraries.

1.2. The unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay.

Plymouth Local Studies Library.
Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AL. Tel: 01752-385909.
Concentrates on Plymouth, West Devon and Cornwall with coverage of the rest of Devon. An important naval history collection is held here. Checked July 2004.

Torbay Local Studies Library
Lymington Road, Torquay TQ1 3DT. Tel: 01803-386505.
Housed in the reference section of Torquay Central Library, this collection has good coverage of the South of Devon. Checked Nov 2004.

1.3. Other public library collections in the region.

Cornwall Library Service - Cornish Studies Library. Checked August 2004.
Dorset Library Service - Dorset Collection. Checked July 2004.
Somerset County Council Libraries - Somerset Studies Library. Checked July 2004.

1.4. Some non-public libraries in Devon.
Such libraries often have collections of local material but some are maintained by societies for members only and access may have to be arranged in advance. The more important libraries include:
Devon and Exeter Institution. Checked July 2004.
University of Exeter Library has a library catalogue online search facility. A guide to the special collections, many of them of local interest, is available. Checked July 2004.
Exeter Cathedral Library Catalogue searchable through Exeter University Library. Checked July 2004.
North Devon Athenaeum, Tuly Street, Barnstaple. Shares premises in the North Devon Local Studies Centre. Checked Nov 2004.
Torquay Natural History Society. Part of Torquay Museum. Checked Nov 2004.

1.5. Some national collections with local studies materials.
British Library - The British Library public catalogue. Checked July 2004.
British Library Net - Gateway to sites, largely of bibliographical interest. Checked July 2004.
COPAC There are 26 academic libraries currently contributing their catalogues to COPAC, including the British Library and National Library of Scotland. Checked July 2004.
Familia The UK and Ireland's guide to genealogical resources in public libraries. Checked July 2004.
Bibliotheque Municipale de Caen - The largest local studies library in Devon's twinned Departement. Checked July 2004.

2. RECORD OFFICES
Information found in libraries may include references to manuscripts or archives. Archives are the official records generated by institutions as part of their day-to-day activities. For these you will normally need to approach the local record office. Record offices hold archives of local authorities, businesses, estates and individuals.

2.1. Record offices in Devon
Devon Record Office Due to move to Great Moor House early in 2005. E-mail: devrec@devon.gov.uk
They also administer the Dean and Chapter archives of Exeter Cathedral and maintain a series of service points with microfilmed copies of records in Appledore, Colyton, Holsworthy, Okehampton, Tavistock, Tiverton, Torquay, and Totnes. Offers professional search service. They are supported by the Friends of Devon's Archives. Checked July 2004.

North Devon Record Office
Tuly Street, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1EL
Tel: 01271-388608. E-mail: ndevrec@devon.gov.uk.

Plymouth and West Devon Record Office
Unit 3, Clare Place, Plymouth, Devon PL4 0JW
Tel: 01752-305940. E-mail: pwdro@plymouth.gov.uk
The archive service for Plymouth and West Devon area. Checked Nov 2004.

2.2. Other record offices in the region
Cornwall Record Office Checked Nov 2004.
Dorset Record Office Checked Nov 2004.
Somerset Archive and Record Service Checked Nov 2004.

2.3. National record services
British Library - Manuscripts catalogue [indexes and descriptions can be searched].
Public Record Office. Merger of the Public Record Office and the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. Checked Aug 2004.
National Register of Archives database of records outside Public Record Office. Checked Aug 2004.
ARCHON directory database of information about record repositories in the UK. Checked Aug 2004.
Access to Archives (A2A) database of listings from record offices across the UK. Has a page of guidance for family historians. Checked Aug 2004.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland - Services, collections, research guidance.

Other archives of local significance are held in the House of Lords Record Office, the Duchy of Cornwall Record Office and indeed "stray" archives can be found in widely scattered record offices. Manuscripts of a non-archival nature can be found in record offices and local and national libraries such as the British Library and the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

3.1. Museums in Devon

Devon Museums Net - Devon Museums: Gateway Site. Checked July 2004.
National Trust. Properties in Devon and Cornwall. Checked July 2004.

Brixham Heritage Museum Checked July 2004.
Bill Douglas Centre - Centre for cinema at University of Exeter. Museum, library. Checked July 2004.
Exeter City Museums and Art Gallery Royal Albert memorial Museum. Checked July 2004.
North Devon Maritime Museum - Homepage. Checked July 2004.
Teignmouth Museum - Homepage. Checked July 2004.
Coldharbour Mill - Working woollen mill and museum in Uffculme. Checked July 2004
Allhallows Museum of Lace and local Antiquities Checked July 2004.
Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life - News ,Featured Objects, Victorians, Galleries, Education, Research, History of the Museum. Checked July 2004.

3.2. National museum services
24 Hour Museum - Gateway to over 2,500 UK's museums, galleries and heritage attractions. Checked July 2004.
Museumnet - Directory of Museums in the UK, search by name, region, keyword. Checked July 2004
National Maritime Museum - Homepage.
Museums Documentation Association - Software for collections management compared.
Standing Conference on Archives and Museums (SCAM) aims to benefit care of archives and their public use by sharing problems common to museum curators and archivists. Checked July 2004

4. ORGANISATIONS

4.1. Devon local history groups
Devon History Society - Notes of events, contents of Devon Historian, useful links. Checked July 2004.
Devon Family History Society. Lists facilities, including Tree House centre. Checked July 2004.
South West Maritime History Society Checked Sept 2004.

Exeter Local History Society. Checked Oct 2004.
Moretonhampstead History Society
Thorverton and District History Society programme, committee, village, posters, journals. Checked August 2004.

4.2. National organisations
British Association for Local History - Events, links, Local Historian, local history bookshop etc. Checked July 2004.
Historical Association.
Institute of Historical Research, London Gateway to sources of information for historians in UK. Text of VCH for Somerset. Includes links to UK resources on-line Checked July 2004.
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments - Publications, research projects, order facility for photos &c.
Society of Genealogists Homepage. Checked Aug 2004.

5. General resource directories

SouthWest Museums Libraries and Archives Council includes regional directory of resources. Checked July 2004.
Cornucopia an online database of information about more than 6,000 collections in the UK's museums, galleries, archives and libraries. Checked August 2004.