The M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, collects, preserves, provides access to, and encourages the use of the University Libraries' unique manuscript and archival materials. Major collecting areas include the New York State Modern Political Archive, the National Death Penalty Archive, the German and Jewish Intellectual Émigré Collection, and permanent records of the University at Albany, SUNY. While the materials held within Special Collections and Archives do not circulate, we are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections in our reading room or contact us for assistance. We are located on the third floor of the Science Library on the Uptown Campus.
This collection contains records of the activities of Dr. Alice P. Green from her days as a student of criminal justice at the University at Albany, SUNY, through her career as founder and executive director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany.
The Committee for Progressive Legislation records document the efforts of the group in bringing attention to issues important to many New Yorkers, especially abortion, family planning, welfare rights, and the attack on separation of church and state.
The M.C. Lawton Civic and Cultural Club Records showcase the operations of the first black organization in Albany that was actively involved in community service and educational advancement, which was founded in 1919.
The majority of the Menands Book Club Records consists of meeting and treasurer notes and program schedules. There also is correspondence, club histories and an information packet of the village of Menands, NY Anniversary.
The Monday Music Club was formed in 1904 among twenty women, to practice their music skills. The women practiced their skills in workshops and other artistic excerices. Even though they were founded in 1904, the collection does not cover the first twenty years of the club.
Collection of records and materials that document the day-to-day activities of the Albany branch of the NAACP, mainly from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.
The Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records document the history and day-to-day operations of the Beta Psi Boulé. A professional fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi was founded on May 15, 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its members are distinguished African American men with college and graduate degrees. Beta Psi is the fraternity's 69th Boulé founded on May 5, 1984 in the Capital District of New York.
The United Tenants of Albany is an association dedicated to improving housing situations for Albany's low to moderate income families and businesses with safe, affordable living and working space.