The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is the, 98,000-square-foot building is the new home of the Illinois State Historical Library and its world-renown Henry Horner Lincoln Collection. It houses 12 million books, documents and artifacts, 47,000 of which are artifacts from the Lincoln Collection, the world's largest. This collection includes, among other artifacts, an original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th amendment outlawing slavery, the Gettysburg Address, and Lincoln’s presidential briefcase, all of which had been stored in a vault for more than 100 years. These, as well as other items, will be on rotating display at the museum.

The library building’s state-of-the-art, 33,000-plus square-foot storage facility is three times the size of the old location, allowing for proper maintenance of the priceless artifacts. It also contains approximately six miles of shelves, reading rooms, archival facilities, microfilm and manuscript collections, classrooms, a multi-purpose conference space, offices, interactive displays, exhibits, and other meeting and special event areas.

Non-Lincoln related items in the library include original material from Illinois history from the 1700s through the 1900s, pertaining to governors, statesmen, the Civil War, famous historical figures and common people. The millions of items in the collection include, for example, 150 original copies of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” published in 1857 and the earliest newspaper published in Illinois – 1814, before Illinois was a state. The library is also one of the top resources for genealogical research

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is a reference and research library, not a “public” library. Materials cannot be checked out as at traditional libraries, they can only be used inside the library. ALPLM money cards are available to researchers who require copying or printing.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is located at:
112 North Sixth Street
Springfield, IL 62701
(217) 524-6358
Official Website