The collection consists of VHS and tape cassettes of oral histories of local black residents and the research notes and other supporting documentation about topics of research. These files are associated with the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Oral History Project and may have been maintained for the preparation of the interviews conducted from 1987 to 1989. The files include legal agreements, letters, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, book chapters, organization publications, and photographs. They also represent, in some cases, photographs and other memorabilia donated to the project by the interviewees.

This collection, which dates from 1740-2004, includes dozens of hand drawn maps, and maps with engravings, most of them originals, as well as bound atlases, representing the City of Hudson and its immediate surrounding area, including Columbia County and portions of adjacent counties as well as New York State. These items contain important information about the history of Hudson and the surrounding region – from insurance and railroad maps, topographical and geological maps, to bird’s eye view drawings and developmental proposals. The collection also includes maps that provide information about The Hudson River as a site of commerce, industry, travel, and tourism, as well as wildlife and residential life, since the settling of the city of Hudson. The collection features maps and bound atlases from a multitude of important historic publishers, including Beers, Ellis & Co.; H.H. Rowley & Co; F.W. Beers; Hudson River Sloop Clearwater; The Sanborn Map Company; and Frank E. Richards, among others.

This collection assembles hundreds of photographs and some slides that have come into the possession of the Hudson Area Library over the years, either by donation or purchase. Photographs date from the early 1800s to the mid-2000s and depict people, places, and activities in Hudson, N.Y. as well as wider Columbia County.

The HAL Oral History Project collection consists of CDs and digital files of oral histories conducted with residents of the City of Hudson, N.Y from 2013 to present, images of the interviewees, and supporting documentation of the project.