Several of our archival collections are now available to keyword search through the Empire Archival Discovery Cooperative (EmpireADC)! Please browse our collections through this link and make sure to check back often as updates are frequent!
1840s to the present
Photographs are organized into collections, each with a finding aid (as downloadable PDFs). Images depict economic and social life, public and private buildings, businesses, industries, historic events, community organizations, urban, suburban and rural life, portraits of individuals, and the work of art photographers.
The main photograph collection contains all types of photographic images, from daguerreotypes to contemporary inkjet prints from digital files. The collection also includes glass plate and cellulose acetate negatives. The images are organized into subject series. Most images relate to the people, locations, and events in Albany and other upper Hudson Valley communities. The collection also contains works by contemporary artists. [link to PDF]
The Morris Gerber collection contains more than 10,000 photographic prints collected by Albany photographer and collector Morris Gerber. For thirty years, Gerber collected images of Albany and reprinted many with his mark “Old Albany.” The bulk of the collection consists of early- and mid-twentieth-century photographs. [Link to PDF]
Photograph albums depicting families, institutions, and businesses—mainly from Albany and surrounding communities—comprise the bulk of this collection. [Link to PDF]
Eighteenth century to the present
A wide variety of maps for Albany, surrounding communities, and New York state that include the following: city streets; neighborhoods; auction, patent, and property surveys; military maps showing fortifications of Albany and the Hudson River; canal, railroad, and highway systems; economic, commercial, and industrial districts; and geological surveys. [Link to PDF]
Nineteenth and twentieth centuriesCollection includes plans and drawings of local buildings including residential, commercial, educational, and religious structures by architects Philip Hooker (1766–1836), Marcus T. Reynolds (1788–1864), Robert W. Gibson (1851–1927), William Schade (late nineteenth–early twentieth centuries), and more. Also included are blueprints for domestic structures listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.
Robert W. Gibson Cathedral of All Saints Drawings (inventory)
Seventeenth through twentieth centuries
Printed in English, Dutch, Latin, and German, the collection includes Bibles, psalm books, and prayer books, many with genealogical information for families from Albany and the upper Hudson Valley. [Link to PDF]
Eighteenth century to the present
Collection includes trade cards and catalogs, menus, postcards, brochures, souvenir programs, letterheads, billheads, and memorabilia. Link to finding aid.
Twentieth century
This small collection includes microfilm and microfiche of newspapers, personal papers, scrapbooks, and government records including Thomas Cole papers and tax assessment rolls from 1799 to 1804.
Eighteenth century to the present
Collection includes magazines, journals, newspapers, and newsletters covering international, national, regional, and local topics with an emphasis on art and history magazines and locally produced publications. [Link to PDF]
Eighteenth century to the present
The collection includes awards, membership certificates, diplomas, testimonials, and commendations given to and received by individuals living in Albany and the upper Hudson Valley.
1790s to the present
This collection consists of bound albums of newspaper clippings, ephemera, postcards, and photographs from Albany city government, families, organizations, and businesses. [Link to PDF]
1732 to 1926
Almanacs include information related to astronomical events, the zodiac, calendars, government information, tide tables, distance logs, agricultural information, and weather. [Link to PDF]
Twentieth and twenty-first centuries
Collection includes motion-picture films, VHS videotapes, audio cassettes, compact discs, and other audio-visual materials documenting local events and culture, such as music, art openings, and community events, as well as commercially produced programs related to the art, history, and culture of the upper Hudson Valley.
Nineteenth century to the present
The collection includes a selection of reference and research books with an emphasis on fine and decorative arts, as well as local, regional, and state history. Specialties include silver, Chinese export porcelain, and ancient Egypt. [Link to Library Catalogue]
Sixteenth century to the present
Collection includes books and pamphlets generally published before 1900, including Albany imprints, and books with notable provenance. [Link to Library Catalogue]
1813 to the present
Collection includes city and telephone directories from 1813 to the present and lists of Albany residents from 1756 to 1763.
Twentieth and twenty-first centuries
The Subject Vertical Files are arranged by subject and include newspaper clippings, research papers, genealogical records, and other information resources focusing on local topics. Also included are Biography Vertical Files on individuals and families from the region.