Do high schools keep old yearbooks?

Most high schools kept a copy of every yearbook at some point. Whether that copy is still on a shelf is another matter, and the answer varies from town to town. Here is what usually happens to old yearbooks, and where to ask for one.

Where old yearbooks end up

• The school library or main office. Schools often keep a run of recent yearbooks in a cabinet. Older ones are more likely to have been boxed, moved when the building changed, or given away.
• The district office or town archive. When a school closes or merges, its records normally go to the school district, the town clerk or a successor school. Ask which school took over the old school's name and records.
• The public library. Many public libraries collect yearbooks of local schools in a local-history or genealogy room, and they are the most likely place to find a complete run. Some have scanned them: that is where most of the free scans online came from.
• The historical society. A local society may hold yearbooks donated by families, along with class photographs and programs.
• The alumni association. Alumni groups keep archives, and their members often hold the missing years.
• Colleges and state libraries. A state library or a university special-collections department may hold a school's yearbooks, particularly for towns whose school no longer exists.

The publisher is rarely the answer for books decades old. Yearbook companies serve the current year, so for older volumes start with the local sources above.

How to ask

1. Check the scans first. Use our search guide and the directory. If the book is online, you may need nothing more.
2. Phone or email the school library or main office with the full name, the year and what you need: a look at the book, a photograph of one page, or a scan. Keep the request short and specific.
3. Ask the public library's local-history librarian in the same way. Librarians can often search an index of names for you.
4. Offer something back. If the school's run has gaps, offer to scan a copy you own, or to donate one. Schools and libraries are glad to fill missing years.
5. Ask about visiting hours. Many schools keep the books locked and let visitors see them only by appointment, or only in the library's open hours.

If the school is gone

Look up what happened to it: town histories, a historical society or the state education department can tell you whether it merged and where the records went. The school's name often survives in the name of a library collection, a street or an alumni group.

If you own one

A yearbook in a family attic is useful to others. Before you scan or donate it, see how to scan and preserve an old yearbook, and write to us if it is not already online.

Last checked 20 October 2026.