ASPCA Collaborates with the NC State University Libraries to Digitize Over 150,000 Pages of Historical Animal Welfare Archival Material

The ASPCA Historical Archive chronicles the organization’s 156-year history as a leading voice for animals in the U.S.

NEW YORK, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) and the NC State University Libraries announced the completion of a three-year, grant-funded project to digitize the ASPCA Historical Archive – a curated collection of more than 150,000 pages of archival material, including annual reports, journals, scrapbooks, photos, and publications that provide a timeline of the work and influence of the ASPCA since its founding on April 10, 1866. As the first animal welfare organization to be established in North America, the ASPCA has served as the nation’s leading voice for animals for 156 years and remains deeply committed to improving the lives of at-risk dogs, cats, equines, and farm animals across the United States.

Horse ambulance given to the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War I. The ASPCA also provided training to army veterinarians and helped attend to animal welfare on the home front. Photo taken from the 1919 ASPCA Annual Report.
A family reunited by the ASPCA, from the 1946 ASPCA Annual Report. In New York City, the ASPCA was where many people got their pets and played a major role in ensuring their safety, wellbeing, and good care.

“Since the ASPCA’s inception 156 years ago, education has been one of the primary means of fulfilling our mission to prevent cruelty towards animals, and we are pleased to provide unprecedented access to our archives to shed light on the development of the modern animal protection and humane movements in the United States,” said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA President and CEO. “The ASPCA Historical Archive highlights groundbreaking achievements to save and improve the lives of animals across the country and we hope it will be an invaluable resource for animal welfare rescuers, advocates, and scholars. We thank the NC State University Libraries for their partnership on this exciting project, which offers a comprehensive look at the history of progress and innovation in the fight against animal cruelty.”

“Thanks to the support and collaboration from the ASPCA, the Special Collections team at NC State University Libraries has successfully digitized and described a sizable portion of the ASPCA’s historical archives,” said Gwynn Thayer, the Interim Department Head of the Special Collections Research Center. “We are thrilled to host these digitized assets on the website; these historical materials will be enormously beneficial to scholars of animal studies and animal protection around the world.”

Today, the ASPCA works to assist animals in need through direct medical care, on-the-ground disaster and cruelty interventions, behavioral rehabilitation, animal placement, legal and legislative advocacy, and the advancement of the sheltering and veterinary community through research, training, and resources.

Many of these key areas of work can be tied directly to the ASPCA’s rich history captured in the Archive, which demonstrates the ongoing necessity of the ASPCA’s unique mission and capabilities and the resilient evolution of ASPCA strategies and tactics to help animals in need, given the challenges of the time. From the ASPCA’s foundational role in creating and enforcing laws to protect animals from cruelty to being a credible authority on animal welfare issues, the ASPCA has pioneered new animal welfare practices, and disseminated influential research to the animal welfare field to improve the lives of people and pets over the past 156 years.

The collaboration between the ASPCA and the NC State University Libraries on “The Animal Turn: Digitizing Animal Protection and Human-Animal Studies Collections,” was made possible by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The “animal turn” describes a shift in scholarly interest in the growing field of human-animal studies. This project brings together key materials from the NC State University Libraries’ Animal Rights and Welfare Collections, housed in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC), and historical records of the ASPCA. The NC State University Libraries’ Animal Rights and Welfare collections document the social, cultural, legislative, political, and intellectual history of animal welfare and animal rights, spanning from the 19th century to the present. 

For more information or to view the ASPCA Historical Archive, please visit: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/animal-turn

About the ASPCA®
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) was the first animal welfare organization to be established in North America and today serves as the nation’s leading voice for vulnerable and victimized animals. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation with more than two million supporters nationwide, the ASPCA is committed to preventing cruelty to dogs, cats, equines, and farm animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA assists animals in need through on-the-ground disaster and cruelty interventions, behavioral rehabilitation, animal placement, legal and legislative advocacy, and the advancement of the sheltering and veterinary community through research, training, and resources. For more information, visit www.ASPCA.org, and follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About The NC State University Libraries
As NC State University’s competitive advantage, the Libraries defines the leading edge of information services and collections to support the university’s mission and to further knowledge in the world.

SOURCE ASPCA