Boston Public Schools Historical Research: Yearbooks

The best place to look for old yearbooks from an existing high school is at that school's library/media center.  If a school merged into an existing high school, again check with the existing school's library/media center for both schools' yearbooks.  The school's website is a good place to find a direct contact to the school librarian. 

Current schools are listed on the Boston Public Schools website. Can't find your school on the website?  Look on this listing of Mergers/Closings/Renamings for Boston Public Schools.

Sometimes you get lucky and you find the school's yearbooks have been digitized.  Boston Latin School (1933-2006) and English High School (1935-2015) have digitized their collections of high school yearbooks and made them available on the Internet Archive.

If the school does not have a collection of yearbooks or does not have the year you want, ask if the librarian knows where the yearbooks can be found of if the school has an active alumni group.  An alumni group may have a collection of yearbooks of its own or may be willing to ask members if anyone has the yearbook you are seeking.

The Boston Public Library's collection of Boston Public High School yearbooks is small and select.  It is mostly the result of donations. The school's library is a better place to look.

However, to find yearbooks held by the Boston Public Library, search in the catalog for the high school as the author because the name of the yearbook will vary from school to school .  For example, Boston Latin School's yearbook is Liber Actorum while Jamaica Plain High School's is simply Senior Year Book.

Be sure to note the location where the book is available.  It could be a branch or a department with limited hours.  If you are lucky, it will be digitized and freely available online, like:

Jamaica Plain High School Senior Year Book, select years between 1942 and 1989
(The Jamaica Plain Historical Society has more years. Check under the "Other Options" tab for a link.)

Roslindale High School Yearbook, select years between 1937 and 1976.

Other organizations may own high school yearbooks. 

If the high school does not have a collection or not the year you need, ask if there is a school alumni group.  The alumni group may have yearbooks.  It also may have a newsletter and/or website.  Ask if the group is willing to post a notice or ad on your behalf asking if any members have the yearbook(s) you want.  While the alumni may not be willing to sell/give away the yearbook, they may allow you to copy or scan what you need.

Local historical societies also may have yearbooks in their collections.  For example, the Jamaica Plain Historical Society has even more years of the Jamaica Plain High School yearbooks than the Boston public library (as well as a handful from St. Thomas Aquinas High School) here.  Check for a neighborhood historical society in the neighborhood in which the school was located. 

Some schools, libraries, and societies are scanning their collections on the Internet Archive or Digital Commonwealth.  Search these websites using the school name and the word yearbook.

It is more of a long shot, but do not forget online used book sellers or class reunion websites.  Some families sell off inherited libraries from distant relatives and yearbooks become available this way. If there is no organized alumni group for a school, individual alumni may be registered on a class reunion website.  You can post a request for alumni from the school and year you want and ask if the alumni have copies of their yearbooks.