— AKC Archives’ Online Digital Collections Growing —
The AKC Archives continues to distinguish itself as the only national repository dedicated to the sport of the purebred dog and covering 125 years of canine history and tradition. The Archives has turned hard copy historical data into digital collections providing the fancy and the public with access at www.akc.org.
The digital collections currently include the AKC Constitution and By-Laws from 1884-1947; nearly 3,000 pages of meeting minutes from 1884 to 1909; the evolution of Dog Show Rules from 1884 to 1931; and the AKC Art Collection. Artwork can be viewed either as thumbnails or a slide show.
Visit: https://www.akc.org/about/depts/archive/digital_collections.cfm to view and research the collections. Sharing documents, letters, and photos in this way enables the AKC Archives to provide better service and greater access than ever before.
Each new collection we receive must be processed before it’s ready to share. Our newest, the John Ashbey photo collection, comes to us with more than 40 years of win shots and portraits as a result of the ubiquitous dog show photographer’s move to a new studio. Other new Parent Club collections currently being processed include those from the Chihuahua Club of America, the Bedlington Club of America and rare books from the Poodle Club of America Foundation.
We encourage Parent Clubs to use the Archives as a permanent home for their collections. Any parent club with an upcoming anniversary show can request free copies of items from their collection if they are planning exhibits that would benefit from items that are currently housed in the Archives.
The Archives also develops its own collections, including the Oral Histories, which were begun with interviews of Bob and Jane Forsyth – dogdom’s most famous couple. These interviews along with our photos are slated for digitization on the Web later this year.
Besides the digital collections we have other interactive pages, such as the 18-page digitized Historical Timeline for the 125th anniversary. As we celebrate this milestone we welcome your stories and anecdotes about your life with dogs and have provided an easy link for you to send us your submissions at:https://www.akc.org/about/depts/archive/125_years/history16.cfm
In addition to the Archives, the AKC Library continues to remain a valuable resource of more than 18,000 volumes for fanciers seeking historical and rare information about purebred dogs and the sport. While still open to the public, visits are now accommodated by appointment. We have established this new procedure to operate the library in a more efficient way considering the small number of monthly visitors.
If you wish to obtain more information about or to use the Archives please contact AKC Archivist, Norma Rosado-Blake at 212-696-8216 or nrb@akc.org. To make an appointment to visit the Library please contact Jim Crowley at 212-696-8234 or jxc@akc.org. We hope you will continue to use both of these AKC resources for your research, your club’s history and your enjoyment.
Sincerely,
Ron Menaker
Chairman