Research

The mission of the Avery Research Center is to evaluate, acquire, organize, preserve and make available materials that document the African American experience in Charleston, the Lowcountry, South Carolina, and beyond.

Avery Research Center is home to approximately 200 manuscript collections, varying in size from a few items to over 50 linear feet; over 4,000 photographs; hundreds of reels of microfilm, VHS tapes, clipping files, and digital formats. There are dozens of collections of artifacts ranging from those that document slavery to material culture from West Africa and a sweetgrass basket collection.

Processed manuscript collections and other catalogued items can be searched via the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library’s online catalogue. Please consult our reference staff about any unprocessed collections.