002. Rhode Island Collection

Scope and Contents

The collection contains manuscript records and audiovisual materials (mainly photographs and architectural drawings) of and relating to Providence Public Library, its buildings, staff, trustees, and programs. The collection includes materials related to the Washington Street-Empire street building as well as materials related to branches previously operated by the Library.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes oral history recordings of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual people in Rhode Island. The interviews document experiences related to identity including sexuality, gender identity and expression, race and ethnicity as well as art & creative expression, dating, marriage and families, activism, religious faith, social life and occupations.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes oral history recordings of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual people in Rhode Island. The interviews document experiences related to identity including sexuality, gender identity and expression, race and ethnicity as well as art & creative expression, dating, marriage and families, activism, religious faith, social life and occupations.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes materials related to the work of composer David Wallis Reeves and related to the American Band of Providence, Rhode Island. The bulk of the collection includes original music compositions and arrangements by Reeves. Also included are photographs, recordings and organizational records related to Reeves, the American Band and various other brass bands in Rhode Island.

Scope and Contents

This collection includes photographs and ephemera related to the personal and professional life of Francis Renault. It includes naturalization papers and a passport, ephemera related to Renault's performances, personal snapshots and family photographs, headshots and photographs of Renault's stage costumes as well as non-drag related business ventures.

Scope and Contents The Rhode Island broadsides collection consists of printed broadsides from 1763 to 1991 connected to events, places, and figures from Rhode Island history. The collection consists of event posters, wanted posters, advertisements, legislation, proclamations, news sheets, handbills, circulars, and poems concentrated around the late-18th, mid-19th, and mid-20th centuries. The collection offers insight into legal, political, intellectual, and artistic histories of Rhode Island throughout these...

Scope and Contents The Rhode Island COVID-19 Archive consists of digital files that document the experiences of Rhode Islanders during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes textual descriptions, visual depictions, artwork, audio and film recordings in various digital file formats that document the initial months of lockdown at the start of the pandemic, various stages of re-opening and the long term impact of the pandemic on people and communities within the state. Individuals could contribute single...

Scope and Contents

The printing blocks represent images of Rhode Island, circa 1930s-1950s. The images are primarily of leisure and recreation activities.