Research & Reference
A collection of guides and links to the most requested research topics from the New Hampshire State Library.
The reference staff of the New Hampshire State Library is available to answer any of your questions related to New Hampshire. In the coming months, we'll be adding a number of topic-specific research guides. In the meantime, there are also a number of online resources for people wishing to conduct their own research. Here is a selection of the most commonly used websites and databases freely available to the public.
Family History
The NH State Library has a large collection of historical and genealogical material for those interested in researching their family's past. Our Genealogy and NH History guide is a great way to get started with investigating your family tree!
New Hampshire Laws
We're happy to help you locate a New Hampshire law on any given subject through our Ask a Librarian service. You can also use these links to look up laws and rules yourself.
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated
These are the compiled laws for the state. Pro tip: If you have a citation for a specific RSA, use the Browse function rather than Search.
New Hampshire State Constitution
The current state constitution is available online. Ask a Librarian if you need to find earlier versions or specific amendments to the constitution.
Administrative Rules
In addition to the state statutes, many agencies have "administrative rules." These rules have the force of law and spell out more specifically how various statutes are enforced by state agencies.
Legislation
You can search for bills through the General Court website's Bill Status Database. For a guide to locating specific bills and conducting legislative histories, see this guide to Compiling a Legislative History from the State Law Library.
To find items in the State Library collection, use our online catalog.
And to find electronic copies of state agency publications, such as annual reports or newsletters, search our Digital Document Depository.
For further assistance please use our Ask a Librarian service to get in touch with us. We look forward to hearing from you!
