SPECIAL COLLECTIONS RESEARCH CENTER
Find Collections
pertaining to
the
African American Experience
CONTACT:
Phone: (859) 257-1742
Fax: (859) 257-6311
Margaret I. King Library Building (map)
Many collections are stored off-site. A phone call or an email prior to your visit will help us to better assist you.
Special Note
Items in the Special Collections Research Center do not circulate; that means they can not be checked-out.
These items must be used in a designated area within the Special Collections Research Center.
There are Special Collections at other locations. Some have online access and some do not (see the box to the right).
Kentucky Archives, Historical Societies, and Other Locations
Selected Archival Holdings in Kentucky
- ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky)Located in Louisville, KY. Contact for information on individuals or events.
- CESKAA (Center of Excellence for the Study of Kentucky African Americans)Located at Kentucky State University in Jackson Hall: archival collections and a museum. No online access.
- Filson Historical SocietyLocated in Louisville, KY: manuscripts, coins, clothing, census records, tax records, and much more. Search the catalog.
- Kentucky Historical Societiesfrom Access Genealogy
- Kentucky Digital Library
This link opens in a new window
Search collections that include civil rights materials such as photos, oral histories, organization records, and other special collections. - KDLA WorldCat Discovery (Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives) [WorldCat Discovery]
- This link opens in a new window
Includes records of holdings in the State Archives and other Kentucky manuscript repositories.
- Robert Penn Warren Civil Rights Oral History ProjectCollection held by the University of Kentucky's Special Collections Research Center. Search and listen to audio recordings online; includes transcripts. Interviews were part of research for Warren's book "Who speaks for the Negro?"
- Robert Penn Warren PapersManuscripts available in University of Kentucky's Special Collections Research Center.
- Special Collections and Archives at Kentucky Public LibrariesList of public libraries. Contact the public library prior to your visit for access information and to learn what items might be in the collections.
- University of Kentucky Special Collections Research CenterCollections contain many oral histories, photographs, and archival materials. Most collections are not available online.
- University of Kentucky Martin Luther King CenterSee the center for material holdings. Includes the Calvert McCann Photographs of civil rights protests in Lexington and Frankfort, KY.
- Who Speaks for the Negro?: an archival collectionThe Who Speaks for the Negro? website is a digital archive of materials related to the book of the same name published by Robert Penn Warren in 1965.