Archives Information

Hours


Mining at Nome, 1901 B70.73.101

The Archives, located on the Museum’s second floor, is open to the public during the following hours:

Tuesday – Friday 10am-2pm (Winter)
Monday – Friday 9am-2pm (Summer)

To schedule an appointment outside of these hours, please contact 907.343.6189 or 907.343.6191.

The Library Collection

The Archives maintains a library of approximately 10,000 titles with the primary focus on history, ethnography and art of Alaska and the North. The reference collection includes art auction records, indexes and dictionaries. Historic maps of Alaska and historic building plans are also available. Circulation of library material is restricted to staff and volunteers, but, the general public is welcome to use the collection as a reference library or request books on inter-library loan. Most of the collection is accessible on OCLC and on-line with other Anchorage libraries at http://lexicon.ci.anchorage.ak.us.

The Artists' File

We gather published information about past and present Alaska artists, maintaining paper files and a database of nearly 8300 names. You may direct inquiries about specific artists to the address above.

The Photo Collection

The Archives maintains a photo collection of approximately 350,000 images covering a broad range of topics in Alaska's history. Here are some of the major collections:

  • The Alaska Railroad (12,000 images). Includes construction photos dating from 1914.
  • The Brickley Collection (12,000 images). From the Katmai eruption (1912) to the Good Friday earthquake, Brickley shot photos and purchased others on which to base an active photo postcard business, with a large selection of World War II views.
  • The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (15,000 images). Includes airfields, village aerials and FAA's Alaska installations, 1945-1975.
  • Christine Heller Collection (2,000 color slides). Features ten villages in Western Alaska, 1947-1968.
  • Lu Liston Collection (8,000 images). Contains the Hewitt's Drug Store post card negatives, South-central Alaska in the 1930s and 1940s, and portraits taken in the 1930s, '40s and '60s.
  • Steve McCutcheon (140,000 images). Includes McCutcheon's professional black and white work throughout Alaska, post-World War II to the mid-1980s, and his stock color slide files. Historical materials collected by him include glass lantern slides, Gold Rush images.
  • Louis Odsather Collection (1,000 images). This is the official photo album, commissioned be the Federal Government to document the establishment of the Matanuska Colony in Palmer, 1935.
  • Ward W. Wells (120,000 images primarily black & white). Comprises Wells' stock and commercial work, 1945-1982 and portraits, 1972-82.

Photos and negatives are not loaned. Photo reproductions are available for purchase, either in print format on photo-quality paper, or as a digital scan on CD. Please allow at least 10 days for processing. 8x10 reproductions cost $20/image.

Donations

Gifts of photos and slides, books on Alaska and art topics are actively solicited. The Archives operates with a corps of trained volunteers who process collections and assist the public in locating images. Reconstructing history through photography is a fascinating piece-by-piece adventure. Each new collection expands the Archives' ability to provide images to the interested public. The photo and book collection is carefully preserved and stored to insure a long and useful life.

Reference

Reference help is available by phone, letter, e-mail any time, or in person during open hours.

Museum Exchange Program

The Archives participates in a museum publications exchange program. Annually, Anchorage Museum publications are sent to 200 reciprocating museums in the U.S. and Canada. Current newsletters and exhibition catalogs from these museums are kept on file.