Visit the Research Center
The John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center is located on the first floor of the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. We are open to the public, and admission to our research facilities is always free. Visit the Research Center to discover newspapers, books, photographs, manuscripts, maps, oral histories, audio recordings, and videos about Oklahoma’s history and culture. Our extensive genealogical resources are available to visitors researching their family tree.
Research Hours
Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
We are closed Sunday, Monday, and all state holidays. There is no charge to visit the Research Center.
Locate Us
Oklahoma History Center800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-522-5225
GPS Coordinates: 35.494367, -97.49968
View map
[email protected]
Visitor Guidelines
- Please sign the guest register each time you visit.
- Smoking, food, and beverages are not permitted in the Research Center.
- To help protect library materials, we ask that researchers write in pencil only (provided).
- Please turn cell phones to off/silent.
- Books and materials are non-circulating; we do not participate in the interlibrary loan program.
- Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied and supervised by an adult.
Service Animals
Service animals are welcome in the Oklahoma History Center in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Service animals are animals that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Dogs or other animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. Service animals are allowed to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed to go.
Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.
Viewing Collections and Archive Materials
- Limited access to vault materials: Due to an ongoing relocation project, access to materials located in the vault is currently limited. While staff will make every effort to fulfill requests, some items may be temporarily unavailable. We appreciate your patience.
- Certain research materials are not stored on the Research Center floor. To view these materials, complete a record retrieval request form.
- If you wish to view manuscript materials, patron registration form (PDF) to prepare for your visit.
- Archive materials are to be viewed in the Daugherty Family Rare Book Room; patrons should wear cotton gloves (provided) when handling these materials.
- Access to oral histories, film and video, manuscript collections, and maps must be requested by 4 p.m. on weekdays.
- Saturday access to oral histories, film and video, manuscript collections, and maps must be requested by 4 p.m. on Friday.
Websites Available in the Research Center
The Research Center offers free access to multiple subscription websites.
- Ancestry Library Edition® offers US Census, ship logs and passenger indexes, WWI draft registration cards, vital records, American Indian records, the Social Security death index, and more.
- Fold3 includes military records and photographs and American Indian records.
- HeritageQuest™ includes US census records, Revolutionary War pension and bounty-land warrant applications, the Freedman’s Bank (1856–1874), and more.
- Newspapers.com is the largest online newspaper archive and includes newspapers from the 1700s to the 2000s.
Group Tours and Field Trips
To book a field trip or request a group tour of the Research Center, please complete our online form.
Clark and Kay Musser Learning Lab
The Clark and Kay Musser Learning Lab is located inside the Research Center. This learning space is available to rent for meetings, classes, and programs. Find out more about the Musser Learning Lab.
