With the recent acquisition of the 1865 letter, the collection of correspondence has grown to about 100 pieces. The letters held by the University date from before the Civil War, when Douglass was editor of North Star, an anti-slavery newspaper published in Rochester, to a few years before his death in 1895. They were given by various donors or purchased. The collection also includes photographs and copies of Douglass's newspaper. Neilly Dean of River Campus Libraries.
Plans call to have scanned images of actual letters with links to their transcriptions.
Almost half of the current Douglass holdings have been transcribed. A special program will be designed for undergraduate and graduate students to work with Douglass materials and develop ways to increase knowledge of him.