Archives and Special Collections (Boston) : Welcome

The Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections is part of the Northeastern University Library. Through the University Archives  the teaching, research, community service, and administrative functions of the University and student life are documented by collecting the historically significant records of the University. The Special Collections preserve and make available the records of private, non-profit, community-based organizations that document diverse populations of some of Boston’s many neighborhoods. For more information on the University Archives please consult About the Northeastern Archives. For more information on our Special Collections consult our About the Special Collections page.

The Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections normally facilitates in-person and remote access to their collections through reference services and instruction and special events, however is currently closed for renovation. Consult the "Ways to Access Our Collections" guide below to begin your remote research in our records. 

There are three primary ways to access information from our collections: collection finding aids, digitized records, and digital collection portals or digital exhibits. 

• ArchivesSpace(Opens in new window): ArchivesSpace is our finding aid catalog. In it you can find detailed descriptions and inventories of our collections. This is a great place to start if you are curious what types of materials we have. In ArchivesSpace you will not find digitized collections, but instead descriptions of our collections. 
• NU's Digital Repository Service:(Opens in new window) The Archives and Special Collections has over 70,000 records available to search in Northeastern's Digital Repository Service(Opens in new window). Here you will find digitized items organized by collection from both our University Archives and Special Collections. 
• Digital Collections sites: The Archives and Special Collections also has a number of digital collections sites or digital exhibits that provide additional context on our digitized materials. Each site addresses a different part of our collections. You can view a list of the sites below: 
  • Boston’s Asian American History(Opens in new window)
    • Records and exhibits featuring records from the Chinese Progressive Association, Sampan newspaper that document the history of Boston’s Chinatown and Asian American communities. 
  • Boston’s Latinx Community History(Opens in new window)
    • Over 41,000 records documenting two Latinx organizations, La Alianza Hispana and Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, from 1965-2001 as well as additional context about each collection. 
  • Boston’s LGBTQIA+ History (Opens in new window)
    • Over 1,000 records from ACT UP/Boston, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, the Bromfield Street Educational Center (including the Gay Community News) Fenway Community Health Center, Men of All Colors Together Boston, Boston Alliance of Gay and LEsbian Youth, Inc (BAGLY), and the Theater Offensive as well as additional context about each collection. 
  • Beyond Busing: Boston School Desegregation Collection(Opens in new window)
    • Over 4,000 archival records from Boston-area archives that narrate the long history of school desegregation in Boston along with resources for educators and curated records from community organizations and collaborators. 
  • Freedom House Photographs(Opens in new window)
    • More than 2,300 images of people, places and events  documenting Roxbury Massachusetts, 1950-1975.
  • Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Committee Archives(Opens in new window)
    • A collection of documents from the Holocaust Awareness Committee, a committee organized in 1977 that has commemorated the Holocaust on Northeastern University's campus. 
  • Lower Roxbury Black History Project (Opens in new window)
    • 40+ audio and video interviews of current and former residents of Lower Roxbury interviewed by Lolita Parker Jr, along with scanned photographs and records offered by the interviewees. 
  • Northeastern University History(Opens in new window)
    • A growing collection of images relating to academics,  athletics, campus, people, and events at Northeastern  from 1902 to the present accompanied with course catalogs, yearbooks, and other historic records and exhibits documenting eras in Northeastern’s history and development. 
  • Our Home: An East Boston History Portal(Opens in new window)
    • Records from the East Boston Community News and community contributed records documenting the long history of the neighborhood accompanied by additional resources to become acquainted with East Boston History. 
  • The Boston Globe Library Collection(Opens in new window)
    • Historic information and highlighted scans from the Boston Globe Library Collection accompanied by information about how to use this unique collection.
  • The Boston Phoenix(Opens in new window)
    • Captured websites, digital issues from Phoenix  Media Group Collections.

If you are interesting in scheduling a class or workshop with the Archives and Special Collections, please visit our Teaching With Archives page(Opens in new window) to learn more and contact Reference and Outreach Archivist, Molly Brown with any questions. 

If you are interesting or have questions about donating collections to our collections or other area archives, contact us at archives@northeastern.edu