This post is co-authored by Project Archivist Joy Zanghi and Head of Digital Production Services Sarah Sweeney.
The archival collections documenting the life and work on Elma Lewis — educator, arts advocate, and cultural leader — represent an extraordinary record of Boston’s cultural history. In May 2025, the library received nearly $460,000 from Boston’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) to improve access to these collections. Just over a year into the project, we’re celebrating a major milestone and kicking off two new areas of work.
Milestone: Digitalization Complete!
The project’s first phase was to digitize materials from all four Elma Lewis collections held in the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections. The digitization work spanned audio, video, photographs, and textual materials across four archival collections:
- Elma Ina Lewis Papers
- Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts Records
- National Center of Afro-American Artists Records
- Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists Records
We’re thrilled to announce that the digitization phase of the project is now complete. Vendor digitization of approximately 120,000 pages of text documents and photographs, 51 videos, and four audio recordings began in October 2025 and finished in March.
What’s Available Now in the Digital Repository
With digitization complete, we are now adding the files to the Digital Repository Service (DRS). All audio and video files, which originate from more delicate formats like film reels and were once in accessible to a reading room visitor, are now accessible. Text documents require additional post-digitization processing before they can be deposited, but they are being uploaded as that work is completed. Photographs have been deposited with minimal metadata and enhancements are forthcoming.
While most photographs and documents are available to everyone, not all of the other file types are publicly accessible. Some documents containing sensitive personal information and audio and video files with copyright restrictions are only accessible to the Northeastern community.
Upcoming Work: Cataloging
The next phase of the project, item-level description, has just begun. Four part-time Digital Project Assistants are performing the cataloging work, which will continue through the end of the project. Text documents will be the focus of the cataloging work. Item-level metadata will improve access to the newly digitized materials by making the archival collections searchable in the DRS and beyond.
Upcoming Work: Community Engagement
An important aspect of this grant is engaging with members of the Boston community who knew Elma Lewis, including family, friends, artists, and alumni of the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, as well as members of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists community. The project team has a lot to learn about the digitized items being catalogued, so gathering community members’ knowledge of people, events, dates, and context will help us create more accurate and meaningful descriptions of the collection. The grant includes funds for these community consultations, which we hope will both give back to the community and enrich the archival record.
Get Involved
This project is ultimately about ensuring that the legacy of Elma Lewis and the communities she built remains accessible for generations to come. Everyone is welcome to contact archives@northeastern.edu to arrange a visit to view the photographs and documents in person.
Also, if you have a connection to Elma Lewis, the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, or the National Center of Afro-American Artists — or if you have information, memories, or context that could help us better describe these collections — please reach out. Your knowledge is an invaluable part of telling this story.