Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library Archives

About Us

Welcome to the Grundy Archive's Bristol History Digital Collections page. Here you will find digitized versions of items from the Grundy Archive detailing the history of Bristol and its surrounding areas.

Mission Statement:
The Grundy Archive contributes to the understanding of our local heritage by preserving and making available materials pertaining to the history of Bristol, Pennsylvania and the surrounding communities, as well as the pursuit of local genealogical research to audiences of all ages and interests. In addition, the Archive preserves and maintains records belonging to the Grundy family (which have traditionally been overseen by the Grundy Museum) and the institutional records of the Grundy Foundation, as well as serves as custodian of the Bristol Borough Municipal Records.

Scope of Collections:
The Grundy Archive was originally founded as the Grundy Library’s Bristol History Collection to collect, research, document, preserve and share the history of Bristol. The archive fulfills the collecting function of its mission by acquiring artifacts, printed materials, audio-visual materials, and electronic media that relate to Bristol, its history, and its people. By acquiring these items the Grundy Foundation accepts the responsibility to manage and care for them in the public trust.

While GA Bristol History Collections include objects from the 17th and 18th centuries, the vast majority of the collections date from the 19th and 20th centuries. The collections house materials in a variety of formats including, but not limited to: atlases, books, pamphlets, posters, diaries, letters, maps, photographs, scrapbooks, yearbooks, directories, microforms, records, minutes, memorabilia, ephemera, audio-visual materials, and electronic media. With the exception of a few artifacts already existing within the early collections, GA will not collect items with special housing requirements or three-dimensional objects, except for small, relatively flat objects, such as rulers, pencils, plates, tiles, and commemorative buttons or badges.

Policies:
The collections of the Grundy Archive are maintained to further the mission and goals of the Grundy Library, Grundy Museum, and Grundy Foundation. They may be used in the following manner:

  • Study, research and scholarly purposes

  • Educational programs

  • Exhibitions

  • Publications that have received permission to publish GA items from the Archivist or Library Director. (Please contact the Library for more information).

  • Loans to other museums, educational, or cultural institutions

GA collections may not be used for any purpose that:

  • Does not relate to the mission of The Grundy Foundation and its entities, Grundy Library and Grundy Museum.

  • Actually, or potentially, places any object from GA collections in any venue in which the condition of the object is jeopardized, or in which the security of the object is unreasonably put at risk.

  • Reproduces an object from the collections in a format or in a publication that conflicts with the mission of any branch of The Grundy Foundation and its entities, including, by way of example and not limitation, reproduces an object in a manner that is actually or potentially damaging to the public and/or professional image(s) of the Foundation, Library, or Museum.

  • Results in personal profit

  • Alters the image in any way, such as through cropping or photo editing, unless approved by the Archivist or Library Director

Rights Statement:
Digitized versions of archival materials made available by The Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library are intended for study, research, and scholarly purposes only with proper citation of the material. For inquiries regarding use permissions, please contact the Archivist directly at archive@grundylibrary.org.

Due to the nature of some legacy collections, we do not know the exact origin of copyright and/or intellectual property rights for some of our materials, and their publication is free and clear of infringement claims sought by copyright owners. To make our information more accurate, we are eager to hear from any rights owners who might know of certain collection items’ origins.

Harmful Content Statement:
The Grundy Archive strives to present archival content that maintains historical integrity and accuracy. Sometimes this means that certain content within historical documentation may be harmful and outdated in terms of imagery and language. In order to maintain accurate documentation, we do not remove items such as this, but provide this statement to alert patrons and researchers that the content within may be offensive in nature. If you have any questions regarding this statement or about certain language and imagery that appear within our Digital Collections, please contact us at archive@grundylibrary.org.

Digitization efforts on this website have been funded in part by the CanDoMore Archival Digitization Campaign. This was the Grundy Foundation’s first CanDoMore initiative. Thank you to our generous donors!