Almost all of the material preserved in the Archives has been donated by individuals, companies or organizations. We welcome new donations that will help us fulfill our mission to collect and preserve the history of the Birmingham area.

Items donated to the Archives are preserved in a secure, climate-controlled facility.

You will have access to material that you donate during the Archives’ regular operating hours. The material will be available to students, scholars and the general public for research.

Among the items we collect are:

-Letters
-Diaries
-Photographs and postcards
-Scrapbooks and photograph albums
-Church and synagogue records
-Some business records
-Records of clubs and civic groups
-Maps
-Architectural drawings and blueprints

Generally we do not collect:

-Old newspapers, such as the Birmingham News, Post-Herald, and Age-Herald. We have these on microfilm. We do collect lesser known papers, such as neighborhood newspapers, religious papers, or independent newspapers.
-Old magazines, unless they relate to Birmingham.
-Books, but we can suggest other places that accept old books.
-Artifacts such as bricks, bottles and clothing. We can suggest other institutions and organizations that accept artifacts.

We hope you will contact us before discarding any of these items. We can help you determine which items should be saved and the most appropriate place for them. You do not have to sort, organize or throw away any material. In fact, we prefer to do that for you.

We will pick up material that is too voluminous or bulky for you to bring to the Archives.

Many donations to the Archives are tax deductible.

For more information contact:

Catherine Oseas Champion, Head
Department of Archives and Manuscripts
Birmingham Public Library 2100 Park Place,
Birmingham, AL 35203
205-226-3631 (voice), 205-226-3633 (fax)
Catherine.Oseas@cobpl.org