Washington, D.C., History Resources

American University Libraries has developed collecting strengths in journalism and diplomacy. It also has limited collections on Potomac River ethnology.

The ACUA is a major repository of American Catholic organizations, social welfare organizations, and labor unions. During the early twentieth century, its faculty conducted field work in some of the neighborhoods so that the ACUA holds important documentation of Catholic social work in Washington, D.C.

This unit serves as the repository of Gallaudet University, the records of the Gallaudet family, and more broadly the Deaf community. It collects photographs, manuscripts, films, books, and manuscripts created by advocates for the Deaf. It has digitized publications of the Gallaudet community and newspapers produced by and for the Deaf.

The GMU Libraries have collected extensively in theater and the performing arts, women in politics, oral histories, and Fairfax County.

The George Washington University Libraries has established Washingtoniana as a major collecting area to support Washington Metropolitan studies at George Washington University. Its strengths are twentieth-century business, transportation, and urban planning. Its collections are especially rich in D.C. politics, particularly after the implementation of home rule in 1973. In 2016, the Libraries accepted the Corcoran Archives, which consists of the architectural drawings, photographs, posters, and financial ledgers that document one of the most significant cultural institutions of the city, the Corcoran Museum which was founded in 1869.

The Moorland Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) is a pre-eminent repository for the study of Black life and history. It is especially rich in the documentation of the intellectual life of Howard University and Black residents of the LeDroit Park, Shaw, and other Washington neighborhoods. MSRC also holds a collection of 150,000 graphic images, photographs, prints, and maps.

Collections strengths include family papers and businesses documenting Maryland, broadcast history, and labor. It also has collections of community organizations in Prince George's County.

UDC has maintained the Felix A. Grant Archives, which documents the history of Jazz and includes the archives of WDCU-FM. Its digital collections include photographs and oral histories.