Donation Information

Since its founding in 1973, the University of Louisville’s Archives and Records Center has sought to document the history of the University and the greater Louisville area. We welcome donations that help further this goal.

When you donate your personal papers or organizational records to the University Archives and Records Center, they become part of our community's collective memory. And while we hold the records of organizations such as the Louisville Orchestra, the Jewish Community Center, 5th Street Baptist Church, and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and the papers of Anne Braden, Harlan Hubbard, and Romano (Ron) Mazzoli,  materials don't have to come from famous people or large organizations in order to tell the story of our community.  For example, we greatly value diaries written by Louisvillians serving with the armed forces overseas, scrapbooks assembled by UofL students, and the records of "mom and pop" businesses.

The Rare Books and Photographic Archives department also gratefully accept donations of materials that enhance existing collections or provide significant or unique resources for study and teaching. Gifts are accepted according to the University Libraries Gift and Appraisal Policy.

If you are considering donating either personal papers or the records of your organization, you may find the Society of American Archivists’ Donating Your Personal or Family Papers to a Repository and Donating Your Organizational Records to a Repository helpful. We are also happy to advise you about what papers and records are most appropriate for donation. In general, we recommend that you do not reorganize or weed materials before meeting with a member of the Archives’ staff, since the existing order may add to their research value.

Financial donations are also welcome and can support significant activities such as preserving collections and preparing collections for researchers to use. We also seek funding to support the growth our Digital Collections, which include tens of thousands of historical images, documents and maps. For more information on making a financial donation, please contact the University of Louisville Libraries’ Director of Development, Denise Nuehring, at (502) 852-1141.