AUBURN AVENUE RESEARCH LIBRARY
ABOUT ARCHIVES
The Archives Division collects, preserves, and makes available for research purposes rare, unique, and primary materials that document the life experiences, history, and culture of people of African descent across the Diaspora, with a concentration in local Atlanta history. It allows patrons to work directly with primary source materials. The Division's holdings include personal papers, records of organizations and institutions, photographs, prints, rare books, audio and visual resources, ephemera, and subject or thematic materials.
The Archives Division operates by appointment only. To schedule an appointment please click the appointment link on the menu.
COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS
Andrew J. Young Papers
The Andrew J. Young Papers document his career and family life spanning more than 50 years, including his positions as a minister, civil rights activist, Congressman, Ambassador to the United Nations, Mayor of Atlanta, Co-Chair of the 1996 Atlanta Committee of the Olympic Games, and his involvement with Law Companies Group, Inc. and GoodWorks International.
Atlanta Life Insurance Company Records
The records of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, 1894-1994 (bulk 1945-1985), and 2000, primarily document the operation of the company, and to a lesser extent, the role it played in Atlanta's African-American community. Through the Jim Crow and civil rights eras, Atlanta Life provided economic services to African-Americans not only through sickness, accident, and life insurance benefits but also through opportunities for employment and business training. Known today as the Atlanta Life Financial Group, the company offers primarily financial investment services.
National Conclave of Grady Graduate Nurses Collection
Minutes and agendas, scrapbooks, photographs, reports and historical writings, printed material and ephemera, personal papers of individual nurses, books, and artifacts including textiles make up the National Conclave of Grady Graduate Nurses Collection. The material documents the history and activities of the conclave, the lives and professional accomplishments of its members, the history of Grady Hospital and its School of Nursing, and the historical role of Mrs. Ludie C. Andrews.
Conclave Historian Mary Dixon Smith chaired the Collection Committee (co-chaired by Dora Edwards Way), which coordinated the assembly of the National Conclave of Grady Graduate Nurses Collection. In 2000-2001, the Committee solicited biographical information and historical records from Grady Graduates and their families. With these donations, Mrs. Smith created History and Profile books, which contain biographical data on over 100 nurses, and assembled the Conclave's records (minutes, reports, convention programs). Mrs. Smith and the Committee also assisted with an exhibit at Auburn Avenue Research Library, coinciding with the 2001 Conclave in Atlanta, about Mrs. Andrews and the Grady School of Nursing.
ARCHIVES COLLECTION STRENGTHS
- Local Civil Rights History
- African American Education and Educators
- African American LGBTQ+ Activists and Organizations
- African American Businesses & Organizations
- Arts and Community Organizations in Atlanta
- African American Politics and Politicians
- African American Art
- Rare African American Newspapers and Periodicals
- African Maps
ARCHIVES EPHEMERA COLLECTIONS
- Slave Document Collection
- Yearbook Collection
- Postcard Collection
- Coin and Currency Collection
- Sheet Music Collection
- Signature Collection
- Stamp Collection
- Church History Collection
- Educational Kit Collection
- Board Game Collection
- Flag Collection
- Long Playing Record Collection
- Funeral Program Collection
