Sarasota County History Center depends upon the generosity of the Sarasota County community, their friends, and their families for donations of historical materials that allow historians, students, and the public to understand and appreciate the history of Sarasota County Florida.

The archives at the center collects, catalogs and maintains primary source materials such as letters, writings, artifacts, scrapbooks, photographs and financial records that have historical significance to Sarasota County Florida.

We seek the personal papers of individuals and the records of organizations that include letters from, or references to figures in Sarasota County’s history. If you own these papers and would like to donate them to the center, please email Jeff LaHurd at jlahurd@scgov.net or call 941-861-5000.

The following materials are most useful to researchers:

• Personal letters from colleagues, family and friends that cover a wide span of years
• Professional correspondence with institutions and organizations, including drafts or copies of outgoing letters
• Diaries or journals giving a day-by-day view of the subject's ideas and activities, travels, sales and options
• Sketchbooks, loose sketches, and studies
• Photographs, slides, film, audio and video of the subject's family, friends, home and work
• Lectures, addresses, and published or unpublished articles preferably from first to last draft
• Scrapbooks, clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements
• Teaching materials, including lecture notes, reports, and comments
• Research files
• Financial papers, including bills, receipts, lists, and ledgers