QUEENS COLLEGE–CUNY history is New York history.
The CUNY Office of Library Services has enacted a three-year project involving the City University of New York’s 31 libraries and 100 cultural centers that will focus on the documentation of photos, publications and other historic records to share CUNY’s story. It is funded by the Mellon Foundation through a $2 million dollar grant and will conclude in 2027.
As every college within the CUNY system has its independent archives, University Archivist Natalie Milbrodt and her team sought ways to elevate and connect the mass collection of archives. She emphasizes the importance of this work by stating, “so many of us who live in New York have some kind of meaningful connection with CUNY.” The initiative is dedicated to discovering the full extent of the archival collections amongst CUNY and ensuring they become more accessible to the community.
Milbrodt and her team of scholars from the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies (GSLIS) have designated days to go into the archives and filter through each box. Additionally, they work on processing collections that have been requested by researchers that were not previously available. Whether they are checking the condition of each box or compiling folders, each workday is full of surprise and intrigue.
