What’s in the Local History Collection

Local History Archives

  • Shaker Library’s Local History Archives include materials on:
    • Architecture of Shaker Heights
    • Business in Shaker Heights
    • City of Shaker Heights
    • Clark-Lee Freeway fight
    • Community Associations
    • Elections
    • History of Shaker Heights
    • Integration
    • People of Shaker Heights
    • School reform groups
    • Shaker Heights League of Women Voters
    • Shaker Heights Public Library
    • Shaker Heights Schools
    • Shaker Heights Schools — reform movements/parent groups
    • Shaker Life magazine
    • Shaker Rapid Transit
    • Shaker Square
    • Shakers of North Union Colony
    • Traffic Barricades
    • Warrensville West Cemetery

Audio-Visual Collection

Audiobooks and music on CDs — spoken word and music recordings by Shaker Authors

DVDs and VHS recordings

  • Documentaries on Shaker Heights
  • Dramatic works by Shaker Authors
  • Fair Housing Review board-donated documentary collection
  • Filmed programs and events
  • Shaker Heights High School commencements
  • Shaker Schools promotional materials

U-Matic Collection — “Shaker Life” cable television program, 1978-2000.

Blueprints and House Plans

  • Shaker Heights buildings, 1945-, on microfilm
  • Shaker Heights buildings, 1995-, on paper (incomplete)
  • See Shaker Heights Blueprints for more information

Cataloged Books

Serials from Shaker Heights, by Shaker Heights residents, or about Shaker Heights:

Magazines

Journals

Newsletters and Bulletins

  • Court Courier — Shaker Heights Municipal Court
  • Shaker Heights church bulletins
  • Shaker School Review — Shaker Heights Board of Education
  • Shaker Heights Voter — League of Women Voters
  • This Week in Shaker — edited by Jane Wood
  • Welcoming Words — Eastside Welcome Club

Newspapers

Other Serials

  • City of Shaker Heights operating budgets and CAFRs
  • Shaker Heights Municipal Court Annual Reports

Maps

Photographs

Shaker Authors Collection

  • Published works by current and former residents of Shaker Heights
  • See Shaker Authors to learn more

Yearbooks

High School Yearbooks

High School Yearbooks can be viewed any time the library is open. Ask for help at the Adult Reference Desk, and leave your ID with the librarian while you use the yearbooks in the building. Selected years are for sale in the Friends of Shaker Library’s Never-Ending Sale for $5 each.

  • Shaker Heights High School Gristmill, 1922-, complete
  • Hathaway Brown School Specularia, 1898-,  incomplete
  • Laurel School Laurel Leaves, 1939-, incomplete
  • University School Mabian, 1926-, incomplete
  • Some of these yearbooks have been commercially digitized with limited online access

Other Shaker School Yearbooks

Shaker Elementary, Middle School and Junior High school yearbooks are filed in the Local History archives. Contact the Local History Librarian for access.

  • Elementary Schools: (*school closed)
    • Boulevard 2016-
    • Fernway 2003-2005, 2007-2010, 2012, 2013, 2016- plus Memory Books 2006, 2007, 2018
    • Lomond 2016-
    • Ludlow*
    • Malvern*
    • Mercer 2016-
    • Moreland* 1986, 1987
    • Onaway 2011, 2014-
    • Sussex* 1985, 1986
    • Woodbury Upper Elementary 2016-
  • Junior High Schools:
    • Byron Jr. High 1972, 1973, 1979-1982
    • Shaker Jr. High
    • Woodbury Jr. High 1970-1973, 1976-1980, 1985
  • Shaker Middle School 2005, 2007, 2008, 2015-

Additional Resources

Genealogy Resources: see our suggested links and subscription databases.

Search Local History Archives to see descriptions of our entire archival collection, and Connect to Local History to access these resources.

Other repositories of Shaker Heights history sources: