How To Use DC’s People’s Archives

Within the MLK Library is D.C.’s People’s Archive, a living, breathing collection honoring the city’s cultural, social, and political history. It’s a repository consisting of three separate collections, the bulk of which are based on the fourth floor of the Downtown library.

1️⃣ The Black Studies collection is a special collection of Black Studies books. It was founded in 1972.

2️⃣ The Washingtoniana Division is a repository for local D.C. history and culture.

3️⃣ Peabody Room, based at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library, focuses on the neighborhood’s history.

You can use the People’s Archive to find various materials, from photograph collections to historic newspapers, maps, building permits, manuscripts of notable Washingtonians, and more. Genealogical research and researching a home’s history are also popular uses of the Archives. The Archives are a great place to start if you're looking up information on Black history and culture.

And the People’s Archive is open to contributions. Librarians are especially focused on expanding the database with the history of GoGo, Latinx culture, and Ethiopian culture.

City Cast DC recently spoke with the Archive’s program coordinator Maya Thompson and archivist Derek Gray. Listen to their conversation on the various ways the People’s Archives preserves and celebrates Black history.