The Ferd Isserman collection consists of 16mm home movies shot primarily in Chicago from the early 1930s through the late 1960s. Documenting leisure time, trips and holidays, highlights from the collection include family visits to the Chicago World’s Fair (A Century of Progress International Exposition) in 1933-34; a legion marching band and USO dedication in Chicago during WWII; the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1932; the 20th Miss America pageant held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ in 1946; a trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles in 1946-47; and Thanksgiving celebrations in the 1930s, 1940s and 1968.

The JoAnn Elam collection primarily consists of films made by independent filmmaker JoAnn Elam. Elam primarily shot on 8mm film, although she did work extensively with 16mm, Super-8mm film and early video. A number of 8mm films have been printed to Super-8mm stock, and films like Rape (1977) and the unfinished Everyday People employed multiple formats (16mm, video, and 8mm). This collection also contains several historically important medical films made by James O. Elam, M.D., JoAnn Elam's father, which document his development of the "rescue breathing" technique and numerous other advances in clinical anesthesiology and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Additionally, there are at least two titles by experimental filmmakers and artists Dan Perz and Ruth Klasses. This collection is sponsored by Susan Elam, Kenneth Belcher and Sandy Ihm.