New York, NY – The American Kennel Club (AKC) announced today that the catalog of its world-renowned library is now available online at www.akc.org/about/library/index.cfm. The online bibliographic research tool, named “Caius,” (pronounced KEYS) will help researchers identify information sources on various subjects associated with dogs – from the development of dog shows to the canine’s ever-expanding role as a household companion. The online catalog is named for Johannes Caius, the author of the first book to classify and describe all the known dog breeds and the tasks for which they were bred.
Caius allows users to browse thousands of the library's bibliographic offerings by keyword, phrase, author, title, subject and format. Search results appear in alphabetical order beginning with the nearest field matching the query. Caius also allows a more streamlined search; for example, a search for “dogs and field trials” or “dogs and agility” will bring up titles specific to these subjects.
“A growing number of fanciers, scholars and serious researchers are traveling from around the world to utilize our extensive collection,” said AKC Librarian & Archivist, Barbara Kolk. “While visiting the library, individuals spend a great deal of time searching the thousands of catalog records for pertinent materials. Now, by going online to research much of the collection before visiting the library, the process will become much more efficient and we can share the library's extraordinary resources with dog enthusiasts from all around the world.”
Initially, Caius will feature bibliographic reference information for bound periodicals, newspapers, foreign and domestic stud books, art, literature and juvenile books. It will also feature magazine and videocassette collections, including those from the AKC Gazette. Its foreign collection (the library currently houses works in seventeen languages) will be included as well. The catalog will continue to be updated over time, so that eventually it will represent all of the library's holdings.
Located at the headquarters building in New York City and open to the public, the AKC library contains approximately 18,000 volumes including bound periodicals, foreign and domestic stud books, art, literature, sporting, history and juvenile books. In addition there are extensive collections of videos, stamps and bookplates as well as vertical files of clippings and magazine articles. Bound volumes of the AKC Gazette, the official publication of the AKC from 1889 to present, as well as all AKC Stud Books are also easily accessible to researchers. The Library's mission is to serve as a public reference collection and archive on matters relating to purebred dogs and the various roles they play in our lives.