The Library, founded in 1817, has one of the finest collections for the study of Freemasonry, and is focused on collecting and cataloging seminal works in Masonic history. Its stacks house thousands of volumes covering all aspects of Freemasonry and its relationship to the Commonwealth. The Library remains a resource for members and academics alike, providing research and lending services in an effort to advance our knowledge and understanding of the Fraternity, its meanings and its place in history.

One of the Library’s prize possessions is an incunabulum, or book printed before 1501. The one in our collection was printed in Basel in 1489. It is really two books bound together, one by St. Augustine on the Trinity, and the other by Robert Holkot on the Apocryphal Book, The Wisdom of Solomon.

The collections are available to everyone who visits the library; however, our Circulating Library is for Pennsylvania Masons only. Hundreds of new books are added each year. Check out the New Resources tab in the Online Catalog for the latest additions.

While staff will make every effort to respond to your genealogical requests in a timely manner, we do not have full-time employees conducting these searches. Most requests will be fulfilled within 1-2 weeks, depending on the number of records requested.

Our records are for Freemasons who have held membership in Pennsylvania only.

Records of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, under normal circumstances, do not include information concerning the names of fathers, mothers, grandparents, etc. In most cases, the only information included would be the name of the lodge, the date of a petition to join a lodge and the dates the brother would have received each of his three degrees.

Make requests via the form to the right. In your request, please include a postal mailing address and a daytime telephone number; sometimes a simple question by our staff can get you a quicker response.