EAA LIBRARY
The EAA's Library collection has been accumulating since the beginnings of EAA itself in 1953. Members began donating items they felt would assist EAA in serving the aviation community and preserving aviation’s history. Over the years the collection became quite large, but was not organized for easy access.
In 1983, when the present EAA AirVenture Museum was built at Oshkosh, provisions were made to accommodate the library materials. Serious efforts to catalog the collection were undertaken in 1984 and by 1985 the library was open for business. Full-time staff was hired in 1986 and business started picking up by leaps and bounds.
Of special interest to researchers, the collection includes the following:
- almost complete set of Jane's All The Worlds Aircraft beginning with a reprint of the 1st volume from 1909
- complete set of The Aircraft Yearbook beginning with the 1st volume from 1919
- volumes of Aerosphere, a very valued reference tool, the earliest volume dated 1939
- of the Bibliography of Aeronautics published by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) compiled by Paul Brockett
| Books | Photographs | Journals | Manuals | Services | Hours | Contact |
Books
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The library’s book collection contains almost 9,000 volumes. The general book collection is divided by subject to cover a variety of topics including biographies, aerodynamics, history, fiction, aeronautics, air racing, homebuilding and many, many more. The book collection is very in-depth, but does lean more to the historical as opposed to the cutting-edge in design technology.
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Photographs
The library’s photographic collection has something for everyone. Beginning with the Wright brothers and continuing into the space age, the photo archives are an invaluable resource. . The photo archive has more than 100,000 images of aircraft and the people that made them famous.
In addition to documenting historically famous aircraft, the photo archives contain numerous photographs that feature the homebuilding movement of the early 1950s in the United States. The photos, many taken at early EAA Fly-Ins, tell the story of an emerging group of people determined to design, build and fly their own aircraft. These photographs have been donated mainly by thoughtful EAA members who want to assist the library in its mission to preserve the history of aviation for future generations. The photo archives also include the below listed special collections. Copies of photographs from these collections can be purchased by contacting the library at 920-426-4848 or email slurvey@eaa.org.
- Radtke Collection: One thousand negatives of military and civil aircraft and famous aviation personalities from the 1930s
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- The Worthington Collection: More than 125 glass negatives donated by W. L. Worthington by an unknown photographer who combined photography of Packard automobiles with popular aircraft of the same era.
A full set of contact prints have been made for this collection.
Unique photos of aircraft with personalities, automobiles, Native Americans and horses.
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- The Norman Collection: Hundreds of eight by ten black and white photographs of civil, military, foreign and US aircraft covering the golden years of aviation.
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Journals
The journal collection spans the century from the late 1800s to the present. Included are historical journals and current news for the aviation industry. These publications present the innovations in aviation technology from its earliest beginnings to the leading edge in homebuilding.
- oldest title held by the library is Aeronautics, Vol. 1, No. 2 dated Nov. 1893. Excellent continuous runs of Aviation, Popular Aviation, Skyways and many foreign titles are represented.
- library also has a very complete run of the early modeling magazines starting in the late 1920s. These magazines are valued for their scale aircraft drawings. The library has compiled an index of more than 7,000 of these published drawings in a searchable database that can be used to assist the most dedicated researcher.
Manuals
An integral part of the library’s collection is the large assortment of technical manuals. These publications, dealing with overhaul, maintenance, operation and instruction on a variety of aircraft, engines and accessories are invaluable to the aviation enthusiast. The manuals are for military and civilian aircraft alike. In addition, many illustrated parts catalogs, miscellaneous service bulletins and pilot notes are part of the collection.
Services
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The EAA Boeing Library is open to EAA members and the public. Requests are accepted by phone, postal mail and email. The library charges nominal fees for reference and copy work.
- The library indexes EAA's publications and a variety of other aviation magazines.
- Searches: The library will keyword search a particular topic for you as a ready reference service. Article copies from EAA publications are available by calling 800-564-6322. There is a charge for photocopying.
- Upon request, the library staff can prepare specific topic bibliographies. A fee of $10.00 is charged for this service.
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Hours
The library is open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST and weekends by special appointment. There is no charge to access the Library. A photocopy machine is available for patron use with copies costing ten cents a page with a one-dollar minimum. Library staff can assist with any questions you may have.
Contact Information
The EAA Library is a research library. Book lending is done on a limited basis through Interlibrary Loan with most public and university libraries. You can contact the Library by calling 920-426-4848 or at library@eaa.org. A two-week waiting period is standard for most reference replies. |
