In addition to collecting materials on the history of the University of Minnesota Duluth, the Archives collects materials that document the history and people of Duluth and greater Northeastern Minnesota. Although we collect broadly in this area, our current collecting priorities include the following:

• Materials created by people in Northeastern Minnesota who have been historically marginalized in archives, including:
  • African Americans and other people of color
  • Women
  • Ojibwe / Anishinaabe
  • Gender and sexual minorities including lesbian, gay, bisexual, non-binary, and transgender people
• Materials that support UMD’s curriculum
• Local environmental topics
• Lake Superior
• Immigration in Northeastern Minnesota
• Labor history
• Duluth neighborhoods, including:
  • Gary New Duluth
  • West Duluth
  • Morgan Park
• Grassroots community organizations
• Local art, music, and festivals
• Social and political movements
• Political organizations and materials on candidates for elected offices

To discuss potential donations of local history collections, please contact us at libarchives@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8526. Please be ready to discuss the following information:

• The organization, person or group of people who created the materials
• General subject of the materials (examples: an individual's work, a social movement, community, church, business or industry)
• Type of materials (examples: photographs, scrapbooks, reports, correspondence, meeting minutes, posters, flyers, video, buttons, etc.)
• Format of the materials: hard copy and / or digital
• Total number of boxes or folders / items if in hard copy

In addition to its own collections on the history of Duluth and greater Northeastern MN, the UMD Archives holds the Northeastern Minnesota Historical Collection which are on permanent loan from the St. Louis County Historical Society.  Please contact the St. Louis County Historical Society for information on donating materials to them.