The Archives were founded by David Tuviyahu, Beer Sheva's first mayor (1950-1960) in conjunction with the founders of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. They are open to the public and function as part of the Zalman Aranne Central Library. The Archives specialize in the collection of documentary materials on the Negev over time, mainly from the beginning of the Twentieth Century onward, and emphasizing Jewish settlement. Materials include documents from institutional and private archives, a picture collection of approximately 13,000 items, maps, local newspapers, news clippings etc.
Most of the documents, all the pictures and indexes to many of the Archives' collections have been scanned and uploaded to the Aranne Library website and are accessible via the Catalog. This material is in Hebrew and must be searched in Hebrew.
Due to renovations to the library, access to the Archives is limited. Please contact the Archives by telephone or e-mail to arrange an appointment.
Online request to use archive materials.
