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Clark Special Collections

About Clark Special Collections Branch

Lt. General A.P. Clark, for whom Special Collections Branch is named, is pictured in his role as Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy in 1970. Clark Special Collections serves the traditional function of a conventional university archive and operates as a repository for historical materials that document the origin of the U.S. Air Force, the Academy, and other topics related to the history of human flight. Holdings include photographs, oral histories, yearbooks, building plans, reports, and other papers and publications. Several rare book collections are also housed in Special Collections including the Gimbel Aeronautical Library and the Falconry collections. Clark Special Collections at the United States Air Force Academy is home to more than:

  • 100,000 photographic images
  • 14,000 films and videos 
  • 12,000 rare books
  • 2,200 Manuscript Collections
  • 1,500 oral history interviews

IMAGE NOTE: Lt. General A.P. Clark, for whom Special Collections Branch is named, is pictured in his role as Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy in 1970. 

Search Our Collections

We have a new feature that allows visitors to search our online collections and finding aids. 

Finding aids are guides used to locate useful primary source materials, and include inventories of items included in each collection. For more information on finding aids and tips on performing online searches check out the Research Tools for Archival Collections below, email the archivist, call Special Collections directly, or pay us a visit. 

Visiting and Contacting Special Collections

Location: Room 6A52, 6th Floor, McDermott Library
Hours of Operation: 0900-1630 Mon-Fri, closed on Federal holidays
Phone number: 719.333.4674 or email the Archivist. 

Friends of the Air Force Academy Library

The Friends of the Air Force Academy Library is a nonprofit charitable organization formed to enhance the quality of the Academy's McDermott Library as an educational, research, scientific, and cultural institution. Clark Special Collections Branch has the Memorial Honor Books maintained by the Friends of the Library on permanent display. The Friends also sponsor annual research fellowships for selected visiting scholars. Their website hosts a number of collections and exhibits about the McDermott Library Collections and the Air Force Academy including the Graduate Memorial Database and the Genesis of Flight Online.

Visit the Friends of the Air Force Academy Website