The Community Organizing Archive at the John Hay Library is available to all researchers - students, faculty, and independent researchers. It represents a long-standing partnership between the Library and Brown alumni who have spent their lives in the field.
Many universities, historical societies, regional museums, and other entities also contain significant collections of documents and digital material that illuminate the work of community organizing during the 20th and 21st centuries. Below are several resources to explore. We thank the academics and organizers who contributed to this list through the gatherings convened by the Brown Community Organizing Initiative.
ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid is a searchable database of collections at academic, community, and other institutions. It is sponsored by the Online Computer Library Center. The search term “community organizing” links to over 5,000 collections (some of which are only faintly related to community organizing). More helpful is that you can search by an individual’s name or the name of a community organization. Links to the collections are provided.
https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/
National and Regional Collections
Scholars active in teaching about and researching community organizing have identified the institutions listed below as having valuable collections that document community organizations. These are often materials donated by experienced organizers or by entire organizations or organizing networks. The list is not comprehensive and may expand over time.
Austin Public Library
Berea College - Special Collections and Archives
Brown University John Hay Library
California Historical Society
California State University - Fresno
Chicago History Museum
Chicago Public Library – Vivian Harsh collection at the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library
Columbia University
DePaul University - John C. Richardson Library
Duke University
East Tennessee State University - Archives of Appalachia
Labor Archives and Research Center
Lawrence Public Library
Library of Congress
Loyola University of Chicago
Loyola Marymount University
Minnesota Historical Society collection
New York Public Library
Northeastern University - Archives and Special Collections Department
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Rhode Island Historical Society
Rochester Public Library
Rockefeller Archive Center
San Francisco Public Library
Smith College
Smithsonian Institution - Anacostia Museum
Sonoma County Library
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Stanford University
Temple University - Special Collections Research Center
University of Baltimore
University of California - Berkeley
University of California at Los Angeles - Charles E. Young Research Library
University of Georgia -- Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Kentucky
University of Massachusetts at Boston
University of Michigan - Bentley Historical Library
University of New Mexico - Zimmerman Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon
University of Pittsburgh
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Texas at Austin - Center for American History
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin at Madison
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
Vermont Historical Society
Wayne State University Library - Walter Reuther Collection
Western Reserve Historical Society
Wheaton College
Wisconsin Historical Society
Yale University - Manuscripts and Archives
