Donating to the Ohio History Connection Collections

Manuscript and Audiovisual Collections

Our archival collections include, but are not limited to:

• Letters and diaries written by Ohioans

• Records of Ohio businesses and organizations

• Film and photographs documenting life in Ohio

• Oral history recordings of Ohioans

Please do not mail or drop off any materials for donation without making prior arrangements.
When you communicate with a curator about a prospective donation, they will give you instructions for dropping off or shipping the material. The Ohio History Connection is not obligated to preserve any unsolicited materials that are dropped off or mailed to us. 

Current Collecting Priorities

•      Underrepresented communities (e.g., LGBTQ+ Ohioans, New Americans)

•      Recent and unfolding events (e.g., environmental changes, political elections, activism)

Digital Collections

• We accept donations of digital files for items that were originally created in electronic formats.
  These may include documents, photographs, and video recordings. 
   
• In their deeds of gift, donors of digital materials agree not to deposit copies of the same files in another repository. 
   
• We do not generally accept scans of documents for our collections. Some public libraries do offer this option, if you are looking to share copies of your items while retaining ownership of them.