People have been recording scenes and events with hand-held cameras since the 1920s, leaving to posterity reels of "home movies" that offer a wealth of information about twentieth century American life. The Home Movie Archive at the University of Massachusetts Lowell was established to save these home movies for use by historians, artists, documentarians, students, and others, allowing them to access this largely untapped resource for their work.
The UMass Lowell Home Movie Archive houses home movies from over 100+ families from the Merrimack Valley or UMass Lowell community. Original 8mm and 16mm film footage has been converted to digital .mov video files as well as DVD. This footage is often used by students as part of their course assignments. We are regularly contacted by outside professional film companies looking to purchase footage for commercial use. We are currently not set up to take advantage of this possible revenue stream for the library.
The database can be searched at any time online with accompanying .mp4 footage available for immediate viewing. The DVDs may be viewed onsite by making arrangements with the Digital Services Center. For more information, contact Professor Chad Montrie.
[Please NOTE: The Archives are no longer accepting new material. However, the complete Home Movie Archive is available and searchable online].
Mike Hansen
1930s
The Macy Family
1950s, 1960s
Jane Benfy
1930s, 1940s
The Wachtel Family
1960s, 1970s
