A BRIEF
HISTORY OF THE HALL OF FAME LIBRARY
The
creation of an archive or library had been
the vision of a number of members of the
ARBA for many years. Committees had been
established for several years to begin
seeking materials of historical note that
would trace the rabbit and cavy industry in
America. It was in October, 1998 at the
Portland, Oregon ARBA National Convention
and Show that a donation of $10,000.00 was
presented by Mrs. Marylouise Cowan, Don
Hoeft, President of the Ohio State Rabbit
Breeders Association, along with Kevin Whaley of KW Cages. This contribution
would formally kickoff a fund raising drive
to construct a library within the walls of
the national headquarters at 8 Westport
Court, Bloomington, Illinois. It was also at
this time that an ARBA History Committee was
established with Ellie Bonde of Maryland as
chairman to secure and catalog items for
the collection. Kevin Whaley of California
would chair the Library Committee which
sought funding. During the next several
months of fund raising efforts construction
finally began in July, 1999. A room
measuring 20 x 30 feet in size was built to
house the library’s publications and items
of historical note that made up the existing
collection. The room was furnished with
beautiful solid cherry wood bookcases,
filing credenzas, curio cabinets, a huge
conference table and leather chairs, which
all add to the attractive decor.
A milestone was
reached on the evening of October 5, 2002
during the Peoria, Illinois ARBA Convention
and Show when the ARBA Hall of Fame Library
was officially dedicated. The ARBA Hall of
Fame Library, was so named for the highest
honor that may be bestowed upon a member of
this association as an ARBA Hall of Fame
inductee. The library that evening was also
officially dedicated to Oren R. Reynolds,
our Mr. ARBA and the late Dr. Terry Reed,
both past ARBA Presidents and Hall of Fame
members. The long sought out dream by so
many had finally come to fruition as we
began preserving our past for future
generations to appreciate and enjoy.
In early
2004, Library Chairman Bob Whitman learned
of a major collection of books and
periodicals that were being offered for sale
in England by a private collector.
Negotiations began, as well as fund raising
efforts being launched to secure the entire
collection and bring it to America. Nearly
$12,000.00 would be raised in just three
months. These donations were made possible
due to the ARBA members, her affiliated
clubs and our corporate friends within the
industry. The British collection from George
Scott, arrived by sea freight in early
August, 2004, but it would take until the
next February to unpack and display the many
items from within their shipping crates.
The ARBA’s
Hall of Fame Library is without question,
the world’s largest single collection of
rabbit and cavy publications in the world.
There are over 9,000 items/pieces, which are
housed in the collection, and it continues
to constantly grow. The next largest
collection of similar note; is located in
Maryland at the United States National
Agricultural Library which houses just over
1,300 pieces. The British National Library,
London also has an extensive collection.
OVERVIEW OF
LIBRARY CONTENTS
First and
foremost, the ARBA Hall of Fame Library
houses an extensive collection of books and
magazines that deal with the history of the
American rabbit and cavy moments throughout
the last century and half. There is a
complete collection of all of the American
Standard of Perfections, Guide Books, Year
Books, plus all issues of the Domestic
Rabbits magazine. There is an extensive
collection of convention catalogs dating to
the late 1920s. Many rabbit publications of
various titles produced though the
generations are also housed in the
collection. All complete sets of magazines
and journals have been bound.
Books are
currently grouped by categories; Feed and
Nutrition, Diseases, Fur/Wool, Meat
Production, Recipe books, Specialty Breed
books, Natural History, Scientific,
Fictional, Cavy, Foreign, etc. There is a
complete collection of British Rabbit
Council Year Books and Standards since 1933.
Our collection of the oldest continuous
small stock publication in the world, Fur
& Feather dates from the first issue in
June, 1888 to the present, all dates are
bound. We are delighted to own these, as the
only other complete collection can be found
in the British National Library. There is a
nearly complete collection of all of the
ARBA’s national specialty club year books,
but due to limited space we do not attempt
to collect newsletters/magazines of these
organizations.
Old
trophies and plaques of noted history are
also housed in the library. Curio cabinets
display; convention buttons, judging aids,
membership cards, pins, badges, stamps,
seals and the like. Old pedigrees,
registrations, breeding certificates and
photographs are also displayed. There is an
extensive collection of rabbit and cavy
postage stamps and first day issued covers
from around the world in the library
collection. Photos of some of this
stamp collection can be found on the
PHOTOS
page.
Just Three
Brief Facts………………….
Oldest
book that deals strictly with rabbits is
The Complete Rabbit Fancier, 1821
Oldest
book that deals strictly with cavies is
The Guinea Pig For Food, Fur, and
Fancy, 1890
Oldest
item in the collection is a porcelain
Chinese rabbit ink well from the 16th
century.
The ARBA
Hall of Fame Library is an archival library
and not a lending library, therefore no
items are loaned out to the membership,
clubs, or other libraries of the world
through the Inter-Library Loan Program.
Members, visitors or researchers are
welcomed to visit the library during regular
office hours to view and study the
collection. Opened Monday - Friday 8:00 am
to 12:00 and 12:45 to 4:30 pm CST
