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Library

The Adirondack Experience Library is the largest, most comprehensive repository of books, ephemera, manuscripts, maps and government documents relating to the history of the Adirondack region. The library-of-record for the Adirondack Park, it collects, preserves, and organizes all forms of information related to the region, and shares that information with genealogists, writers, historians, students, and anyone with an interest in the Adirondacks.

To schedule an appointment or to submit a research inquiry, please email Jenny Ambrose, Director of Archives & Special Collections, at jambrose@theadkx.org.

A cropped view of a vintage map of Lower Saranac Lake - just one of the many maps available for research and historical reference. about the Adirondack region.

ADKX Online Materials

Other Resources

Kelly Adirondack Center at Union College has its own resources and maintains a great list of other sites with historical Adirondack material.

NY State Archives Digital Collections

NY State Library Digital Collections

Hathi Trust – full-text digital copies of old books. A good place to look for NY State reports (like Verplanck Colvin’s surveys) and public domain titles.

New York Public Library Digital Collections (especially maps!)

Library of Congress Digital Collections

Audio Recordings

The library has 230 audio recordings of oral histories, music, and radio programs that capture many under-documented aspects of life in the Adirondacks.

Books

The library’s collection of books includes nearly 11,000 volumes about the Adirondacks, New York State history, environmental conservation, and outdoor recreation. It holds an extensive collection of 19th and 20th century guidebooks to the Adirondack region and houses a substantial group of documents produced by agencies of New York State and the Federal Government. The library also collects books related to American art history, small craft, and horse-drawn vehicles.

Manuscripts

The Adirondack Experience Library owns over 1200 cataloged collections of manuscript material consisting of records produced by individuals, businesses, institutions, and organizations. The manuscript collection documents the interaction between the everyday lives of humans and the environment in the Adirondack Park.

Maps

The library owns a large, valuable, and fascinating collection of historical maps, atlases, and gazetteers covering the Adirondack region and northern New York State. Among them are rare examples of 18th, 19th, and 20th century published and manuscript maps that illustrate the historical exploration and development of resources, transportation, and recreation in the Adirondacks.

Microfilm

The library has over 100 periodical and newspaper titles published in the Adirondack North Country during the 19th and 20th centuries stored on microfilm. The library also maintains an extensive collection of United States Census Bureau records, manuscript collections, and dissertations on microfilm.

Serials

The library has collected more than 400 19th and 20th century serial titles, including conservation or environmental journals produced by many organizations that played a role — or had an interest in — the Adirondack Park. A sizeable portion of the serial collection consists of outdoor magazines devoted to hiking, hunting and fishing. The library also maintains a substantial collection of serials covering the areas of art history and New York State history.

Vertical Files

The Experience library maintains a Vertical File collection of nearly 15,000 pieces of ephemera related to the Adirondacks. The information in the files covers such diverse topics as small boats, acid rain, Adirondack resorts, railroads and steamboats, the Adirondack Park Agency, camps and summer homes, and the lives of individuals of note in the history of the region.

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