The Chris & Kathleen Koch
AACA Library & Research Center
Library Staff
Library Director: Jen Wolfe
Librarian/Volunteer Coordinator: Matt Hocker
Librarian/Outreach Coordinator: Amoi Goldman
Librarian/BHA Curator: Spencer Paterick
Library History
We are the Library & Research Center for the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA). Recognized as a world-renowned resource for the collectible vehicle community, we strive to continue setting the standard in celebrating, collecting, preserving and sharing automotive legacy.
Our library is one of the largest and most honored of its type in the world, and is free and open to the public. Our collection contains books, sales literature, brochures, company documents, owner’s booklets, periodicals, service manuals, and many more items all relating to the automotive industry and hobby. At the AACA Library & Research Center, we share your passion for the preservation of automotive history. Currently we house about 3 million individual items to help restorers and historians alike. We also maintain the collections of nine car clubs and organizations in our state-of-the-art facility.
The library had its beginnings as early as the late 1930s when club leadership first expressed the need for a collection of literature and actively put the call out for donations of material. But it wasn’t until 1977, when the AACA purchased the automobile literature collection from the estate of Dr. Alfred Lewerenz of California, that the library . The original purpose of the library was to assist the editor of Antique Automobile in research for the club magazine.
Barbara Schneiter was hired in 1977 as the first AACA librarian. She was responsible for organizing the library, which was also opened for use by AACA members that same year. At this time, the collection was placed on the second floor of the National Headquarters building on Governor Road in Hershey. Over time, the collection grew to fill all available space on the second floor, as well as the attic and basement of the building. In 1981, the library received its 501c3 non-profit designation, was appointed its own Board. By 1985, the library broke ground on its own building, as an extension of the National Headquarters, where it remained until 2021 when National moved to its new building on Hersheypark Drive.
Head Librarians/Library Directors
Barbara Schneiter (1977 – 1978)
Marcia Miller (1978 – 1979)
Kim Miller-Gardner (1979 – 2008)
Chris Ritter (2008 – 2022)
Jen Wolfe (2023 – Present)
Headquarters Building
We welcome you to visit our new facility in Hershey! The main level features a rotating collection of vehicles (both club-owned and borrowed from others in our community), art displays, National trophy collection and awards kiosk, and the oral history collection, as well as National Headquarters staff offices.
On the second floor you’ll find the library, staff offices, and primary archives. Some of our popular collections include: Periodicals & Magazines, the Ralph Dunwoodie Archives, Shop Manuals & Parts Catalogs, the Buick Heritage Alliance collection, Reference Books, Sales Literature, and the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild models. Most of our collection is housed in space-saving movable stacks, secured in a climate-controlled environment to ensure its preservation. Enjoy your time with us in our comfortable reading room, or utilize our classroom or boardroom areas.
Because the materials in our collection are very rare and valuable, and many items are irreplaceable, ours is a non-circulating collection. Items cannot be checked out, or leave the building for any reason. To avoid accidental losses, we ask that handbags, tote bags, briefcases, shopping bags, etc. are not brought into the main library area. Please leave them in your car, or use our lockers to store your personal items while you visit. Thank you for protecting our collection!
Reading Room Guidelines
Researchers may bring approved loose paper research notes, pencils, hand-held wallets, and laptops/phones, but those items are subject to inspection when entering and leaving the research area. Paper and pencils are provided to researchers if you don’t have your own. Researchers may not bring briefcases, backpacks, purses, boxes, or other large containers into the research area. See our full Library Use Policy for more detailed information.
Allowed:
- Cameras, camcorders and tripods
- Photographic copy stands (with approval)
- Video tapes, audio tapes, and film
- Scanners (only flatbed without auto feed, and MUST receive staff approval)
- Personal computers
- CDs/DVDs
- Small eye glass cases
Not Allowed:
- Food, drink (including water) candy, gum, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or any other tobacco products
- Hand sanitizer, lotion
- Envelopes, 3-ring notebooks, binders, folders, pens, markers or “Post-it” notes
- Purses, fanny packs, briefcases, suitcases, handbags, backpacks, boxes, bags, equipment bags, or containers of any kind