Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The archives of the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics were given to Library of Congress by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1964. Additions were received in 1965 and 1966. The archives were organized beginning in 1939 and discontinued in 1962. The records include material donated to the institute's archives by private collectors.
Processing History
The archives of the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences in the Library of Congress were processed in 1966 by John Butler and Kevin Keaney. Revisions were made to the collection in 1986, after scrapbooks relating to the Wright brothers were microfilmed, and again in 1994. A portion of the collection was rehoused in 2003 by Sherralyn McCoy, but the organization of the material remained unchanged. Although the finding aid and container list were revised to indicate the current housing, the container numbers noted in the microfilm of the Wright brothers scrapbooks reflect the original housing. Containers 64-65 were rehoused and their contents rearranged with more description in 2016. Items originally filed elsewhere in the collection were conserved and rehoused in container OV 84 in 2024.
Transfers
Prints, drawings, posters, photographs, and other illustrated material pertaining to Bela Clara Landauer have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the Institute of Aerospace Sciences Archives. Patrons are encouraged to contact the Prints and Photographs Division in advance of a research visit. .
Other Repositories
The Smithsonian Institution and the Connecticut Historical Society also received segments of the institute's original archives.
Microfilm
Scrapbooks relating to the Wright brothers were filmed by the Library in 1985 and are available on four reels from the Library's Photoduplication Service. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. Except for some manuscript material within the scrapbooks which was retained, the scrapbooks were discarded after filming. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Institute of the Aerospace Sciences Archives, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.