Associated Press Collections Online

Collection Content

The Associated Press Collections Online (AP Online) consists of an extensive collection of archival files and internal communications from various bureaus of the Associated Press (AP), in six parts, anticipated to total around 2.7 million pages. Parts I-III were released in 2014, with the remaining parts being released in 2014-2015.

The AP news agency, originally founded in 1846, has been a major source of reporting on current events in the United States and throughout the world. The digital collection provides further background on reported stories, as well as working details of the developing professions of journalism and photo-journalism.

Part I: News Features & Internal Communications

This portion of the collection includes archival papers of various editors, in-house journals commenting on methods of coverage, writing manuals, and the AP Log, a weekly summary of news items. While some of the archival papers date back to the mid-nineteenth century founding, the major time periods covered is from the 1930s to the 1990s. Some of the content is from microfilm. This portion of the collection is estimated to total 73,000 pages.

The publisher indicates that the following archival files are included:

AP #	Collection
AP 39.5	Newsfeatures, 1944-1993, plus AP Newsfeatures, 1940-79 (47 reels on microfilm)
AP 15.3	News Department Circular Letters, 1939-90 Circular letters of editors Byron Price, Alan J. Gould, Sam Blackman and Jack Cappon, all legendary reporters, editors and stylists.
AP 21.11	Moses Sperry Beach Papers, 1848-1914
AP 21.26	George Bria Papers, 1943-1945 (selections)
AP 21.30	Godfrey Anderson Papers, 1935-1990
AP 21.36	Angus M. Thuermer Papers, 1939-1989 (primarily WWII) – Selections from Series I, Correspondence, 1937-47 and Series II, Stories and wire copy, 1938-42 (entire)
AP 21.46	Conrad C. Fink Papers, 1957-1994 Series II, London Cables, 1962-66 Series III, Folders 57, 58, 61, 62, 63 (includes reporter’s notebooks)
AP 21.48	Haldore Hanson Papers, 1934-1944
AP 28	Writings About the Associated Press, 1877-1939 (unpublished and published) Series III, Oliver Gramling Commissions, 1934-39, n.d. Series IV, Periodicals, 1877-1922 (Folders 124, 124a, 125, 126, 127) Series V, Melville Stone Writings, 1894-1922 (Folders 132--140)
AP 34.1	The Service Bulletin
AP 34.2	AP Inter-Office and The AP World
AP 34.3	AP Logs (The AP Log, State Logs, International)
AP 34.4	AP Stylebook
AP 34.5	Miscellaneous Serial Pubs
AP 34.6	Miscellaneous Publications, 1894-2010 Series I, Early Publications, 1894-1950

Part II: Washington, D.C. Bureau Collection

This portion of the collection features archival content from the Washington Bureau of the AP. In 1944 the agency transferred its paper files from 1915-1930, bound in 350 volumes, to the Library of Congress. Among the news filings included in those volumes is coverage of significant world events such as the Armenian massacre in Turkey (1915), the Mexican Revolution (1915), and Black Thursday on New York’s Wall Street (1929). Other files from 1952-1996 record coverage of the activities of five U.S. presidents. There are also photography and assignment logs with diary notations on assignment subjects (1962; 1972-85; 1991).

All of this content has been scanned from original format, with permission from the Library of Congress. The manuscript portions total around 445,000 pages.

The publisher indicates that the following archival files are included:

AP #	Collection
AP 16	Washington, D.C. Bureau Records, 1952-1996
LC	Washington, D.C. Bureau Records, 1915-1930 (at Library of Congress)

Part III: The U.S. Bureau Collection

This portion of the collection presents copies (from typescript carbons and transmitted wire copy) of news stories filed in various major U.S. urban bureaus of the AP from the 1930s to 2004. All of this content has been scanned from original format, approximately 760,000 pages.

The publisher indicates that the following archival files are included:

AP #	Collection
AP 17.1	Pittsburgh
AP 17.2	Miami
AP 17.3	New Orleans
AP 17.4	Chicago, 1931-1991
AP 17.5	Birmingham, 1959-1988
AP 17.9	Philadelphia
AP 17.13	Atlanta
AP 17.14	Dallas, 1946-1993
AP 17.18	Austin

Part IV: Middle East Bureaus

The Middle East Bureau portion of the collection will include wire copy and clippings from both locally-based and international reporters in several areas of the Middle East. Overall the dates covered range from 1967 to 2008, though the content from individual bureaus may be more limited. Much of the focus is on international relations and the conflicts of this time period, but the files also document subjects such as economics and statistics.

The publisher indicates that the following archival files will be included, for a total of 230,722 pages:

AP #	Collection
AP 18.18	Beirut Bureau Records 1982-2005
AP 18.10	Jerusalem Bureau Records 1967-1998
AP 18.12	Ankara Bureau Records 1975-2008

Part V: European Bureaus

The European Bureaus collection consists of wire copy and clippings, AP dispatches, internal correspondence, as well as reports issued from government news organizations. The date coverage is broad; the earliest dates to 1942, with one archive reaching up the year 2000. The subjects covered include both Eastern and Western Europe, the Cold War, World War II, and other events in the second half of the twentieth century. Some of this material is intended to complement reports previously released in the AP Collections Online archives.

The publisher indicates that the following archival files will be included, for a total of 733, 385 pages.

AP #	Collection
AP 18.1	Bern Bureau Records 1942-44
AP 18.3	Vienna Bureau Records 1952-1998
AP 18.23	Berlin Bureau Records 1976-2000
AP 18.24	Geneva Bureau Records, 1945-2003
AP 18.26	Prague Bureau Records, August 1968-1998
AP 18.27	Warsaw Bureau Records, 1976-2000
AP 39.8	Wire Copy Microfilm “European Disorders”

Part VI: Washington, D.C. Bureaus (Library of Congress)

From the Washington DC Bureau archive contained in 350 bound volumes originally donated to the Library of Congress in 1944, this portion of the collection covers materials ranging from 1915-1930. Consisting primarily of onion-skin news copy, it is anticipated to total approximately 400,000 pages. This update will extend the range of what is already available in the previously released 1938-2009 archive.

Delivery

This collection, in addition to having its own native platform and interface, is also accessible (and cross-searchable with other historical digital collections from the publisher) on Gale’s Artemis platform, offering several advanced scholarly workflow tools. Finding aids as produced by the Associated Press are integrated, and the majority of the archival collection is text searchable, since it is in either typescript or print format.

Strengths and Weaknesses

This digital collection is an extremely valuable primary resource for researching the background of significant political and cultural events for most of the span of the twentieth century, and back into the nineteenth century. It can also be very important to those researching the history of journalism and news reporting. Complete access to comprehensive archival coverage from this important organization is highly useful.

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