Labor History

Special Collections has over 2,000 reels of labor-related microfilm.

Q: What is microfilm?

A: Microfilm is a roll of film containing very small pictures of scanned documents. Researchers use special machines to magnify the film.

Reading microfilm requires special microfilm readers.

The Maryland Room has both older analog and newer digital microfilm readers. Patrons can scan and save images on the digital readers to a flash drive.

Staff in the Maryland Room are happy to help patrons learn how to use our microfilm readers.

AFL-CIO microfilm 

• See the Guide to Collections for brief descriptions of microfilm collections
   
• Some microfilm is listed in the Record Groups. (You'll know a collection is microfilm because the collection will have a number of "reels.")

• Most of the microfilm is listed at the end of the Guide under "RG500: Other Collections"

Other labor microfilm collections:

• Baltimore Federation of Labor archives, 1918-1969
   
• Archives of the Cigar Makers' International Union, 1856-1974
   
• Works Projects Administration in Maryland records, 1933-1943