There is a wide range of locations which contain information on local history among the county's libraries, record offices and museums. You will probably start your investigations at the nearest large local studies collection in the public library service. A general intoduction to the local studies service in Devon Libraries is available - et aussi une introduction française aux fonds locaux dans le Devon. Much information is also available on the web and a listing of links to other useful sites for local studies enquiries, local and national is available.
The following table provides a district by district summary:

WESTCOUNTRY STUDIES LIBRARY
Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PQ. Tel: 01392-384216. E-mail: exeloc@devon.gov.uk
Devon's main local studies collection with detailed coverage of the four Western counties. Rich in early printed materials, it also houses the collections of the Devon and Cornwall Record Society.

NORTH DEVON LOCAL STUDIES CENTRE
Tuly Street, Barnstaple. Tel: 01271-388607 E-mail barnloc@devon.gov.uk
Shares accommodation with the North Devon Record Office and the North Devon Athenaeum Library. It covers north Devon and Exmoor.

RAILWAY STUDIES COLLECTION
Newton Abbot Library, Bank Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2RP.
Tel: 01626-336128. E-mail raillib@devon.gov.uk e-mail: raillib@devon.gov.uk
The Collection covers all aspects of railways. It is comprehensive for the West Country with substantial coverage of the remainder of the UK.

DEVON BRANCH LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
Most branch libraries in the county hold some local studies material. This includes boxes of materials for neighbouring parishes copied from originals in the main collections. Some libraries, such as Exmouth, Newton Abbot and Bideford have considerable local studies collections. A listing of Tavistock Library's family history resources is available.

LENDING COLLECTIONS
Material in the main collections is for reference only but lending copies of many titles are available through the county's lending libraries.

1.2. The unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay.

PLYMOUTH LOCAL STUDIES LIBRARY
Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AL. Tel: 01752-385909.
Concentrates on Plymouth, West Devon and Cornwall with coverage of the rest of Devon. An important naval history collection is held here.

TORBAY LOCAL STUDIES LIBRARY
Lymington Road, Torquay TQ1 3DT. Tel: 01803-386505.
Housed in the reference section of Torquay Central Library, this collection has good coverage of the South of Devon.

Such libraries often have collections of local material but some are maintained by societies for members only and access may have to be arranged in advance. The more important libraries include:

University of Exeter. A guide to the special collections, many of them of local interest, is available. Tel: 01392-51017.
Devon and Exeter Institution. Tel: 01392-51017.
North Devon Athenaeum, Barnstaple. Tel: 01271-42174.
Torquay Natural History Society. Tel: 01803-293975.

DEVON RECORD OFFICE
Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PU
Tel: 01392-384253. E-mail: devrec@devon.gov.uk
They also administer the Dean and Chapter archives of Exeter Cathedral and maintain a series of service points with microfilmed copies of records in Appledore, Colyton, Holsworthy, Okehampton, Tavistock, Tiverton, Torquay, and Totnes.

NORTH DEVON RECORD OFFICE
Tuly Street, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1EL
Tel: 01271-388608. E-mail: ndevrec@devon.gov.uk.

PLYMOUTH AND WEST DEVON RECORD OFFICE
Unit 3, Clare Place, Plymouth, Devon PL4 0JW
Tel: 01752-305940. E-mail: pwdro@plymouth.gov.uk
The archive service for Plymouth and West Devon area.

Other archives of local significance are held in the Public Record Office, the House of Lords Record Office, the Duchy of Cornwall Record Office and indeed "stray" archives can be found in widely scattered record offices. Manuscripts of a non-archival nature can be found in record offices and local and national libraries such as the British Library and the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

There are some forty museums in Devon with material on local history. Many have restricted opening hours. For details see the Devon County Council museums website or Devon Museums Net. There is also a list of links on the local studies website. There is also a range of printed guidebooks or directories avaible. It is strongly advised to contact museums in advance, should you wish to view material which does not form part of the public displays.

COOKWORTHY MUSEUM, Kingsbridge. A guide to the Museum's documentation centre is available.