Archives

Featured Collection

Featured Collection:

Ernie Pyle Collection

Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945)

Abstract: This collection contains materials written by and about Ernie Pyle, a Pulitzer prize winning American journalist who was most famous for his World War II columns from the 1940s. The collection also covers his early days as the “Roving Reporter,” his life in Albuquerque and overseas, and his eventual death in Ie Shima, Okinawa in 1945. There is also much information about various tributes and memorials, which occurred after his death, including the opening of the Ernie Pyle Memorial Branch Library in Albuquerque, NM.

Archival Finding Aids

Archival collections may contain many different types of documents, photos or objects like stamps or medals known as realia. Finding aids briefly describe the contents of archival collections to enable researchers to determine whether collections contain information they can use.

The majority of the finding aids for the collections housed at Special Collections are hosted on the New Mexico Archives Online (NMAO). The NMAO "provides access to finding aids for archival collections from 19 repositories across the state of New Mexico. The finding aids include information on the contents, historical context, creation, and organization of materials in the collections."

Click here to access the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Special Collections Library

Finding Aids on NMAO

Additional Finding Aids (Not yet on NMAO):

Albuquerque Center Documents - promotional materials, newsletters, sector development plans, facilities studies (e.g. Performing Arts Center), and more pertaining to Downtown Redevelopment efforts (1980s).

Albuquerque City Clerk Scrapbooks - volumes of clippings documenting news, issues and events involving City of Albuquerque government (1922-1974).

Albuquerque Promotional Pamphlets - published by Chamber of Commerce, Civic Council, local banks and business, and tourism and hospitality groups.

Albuquerque Public Library Archives - scrapbooks, accession records, staff lists, handouts and brochures.

Albuquerque Street Maps - This boxed collection consists of uncataloged, folded street maps of Albuquerque.

Albuquerque Tricentennial Records - about the organization, task forces,committees, projects, events, publicity and financial records of this 300n celebration of the founding of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Bernalillo County Abstract and Title Company Collection - records of property transactions, grantor and grantee indexes, indexes to court actions actions, and abstracts of titles.

Calendar Collection - includes past Balloon Fiesta calendars, and more.

Dennis Chavez postage stamps [framed]

Citizen's Record Collection - includes records of a variety of civic projects such as Petroglyph National Monument and Albuquerque's Open Spaces.

Colligan Collection - personal papers, manuscripts, photos, and related material documenting John B. Colligan's research on the genealogy of the Armijo, Borradile, and Colligan families.

Don Quixote Collection - includes a variety of editions of Don Quixote over the years, as well as statuary and recordings.

El Kookoóee - Festival de Otoño Files - contains letters, receipts, and papers documenting Rudolfo Anaya's efforts to introduce the annual El Kookoóee celebrations in the South Valley.

History of Petroglyph National Monument - A gift from FOTAP Keepers Issac C. and Sharon Eastvold, this collection of over 20 boxes contains documents relating to the establishment of the Petroglyph National Monument.

Hospitality Collection - variety of menus, coasters, and promotional ephemera from local restaurants and hotels.

Madonna of the Trail Collection

Marigold Parade Collection - a collection of photos, graphics, and articles about South Valley's Marigold Parade.

Mayor of Albuquerque Scrapbooks - administrations of:

  • David Rusk 
  • Louis Saavedra

New Mexico and Albuquerque Sheet Music - sheet music about or published in Albuquerque or New Mexico. Related collection: Elizabeth Garrett Sheet Music Collection.

New Mexico Promotional Pamphlets - tourism and "booster" publications.

Newspaper Archive - Albuquerque - A collection of individual issues of newspapers from Albuquerque.

Newspaper Archive - Albuquerque Journal & Tribune - A collection of individual issues of the Albuquerque Journal and Albuquerque Tribune.

Newspaper Archive - New Mexico - A collection of individual issues of newspapers from various parts of New Mexico.  Dates range from 1894-1938.

Postcard Collection - Albuquerque.

Postcard Collection - New Mexico.

Poster Collection - posters from Albuquerque and other locations in New Mexico.

Public Works of Art Donations (1934), including:

Alan B. Reed Collection - correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings and other items related to the political career of Albuquerque city councilor Alan B. Reed.

Regional Planning Collection - a variety of planning documents from Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and the immediate vicinity.

Janet Rontz Collection - illustrations of homes and other buildings in the Greater Albuquerque Area.

The Sun Newspaper Archive - the collection contains newspaper issues from both The Sun and The Albuquerque Morning Journal from May and June of 1908.  Also included is an issue of The Sun in which the editor reports an assault on himself by an Albuquerque police officer.

Nurse Florinda Thais (1905-1989) - information about Nurse Thais who was active in healthcare in Albuquerque.  She received a nursing degree from St. Joseph’s Sanatorium, Albuquerque in 1919. She attended/worked for St. Joseph’s from 1917-1923, Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 1924, St. Antony’s Hospital in Las Vegas in 1925, and at Presbyterian Sanatorium/Hospital from 1946-1958.

What Is an Archive?

Archive

An archive is "a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved; also the material preserved (often used in plural)" - or "a repository or collection especially of information." Archival holdings are a rich and growing resource at Special Collections. Archive collections are available for in-house use only. Researchers must have a library card in good standing to access some materials. Source:  merriam-webster.com

Some archival boxes housing the Ernie Pyle Collection