If you’re a car nut, you’ve probably visited a number of automotive museums. But have you ever been to an automotive library? If you haven’t, you need to visit Auto-Archives, in Denver, Colorado.

“Our mission is to preserve and document the rich history of the automobile, and provide both a physical and virtual resource for the study of the past, present, and future of the automobile, in all its forms,” said William Taylor, President of Auto-Archives. “We hope to inspire, enable and support the advancement of automotive studies for people interested in an industry that has, in the past one hundred years, changed the habits of modern society.”

The physical archive of literature will reside at their library location, while a digital database will be hosted at hobbyDB. “By hosting the archive on hobbyDB, we can link the contents of the library to their cars, races, teams, drivers, sponsors, designer or  engineer in our database,” said Christian Braun of hobbyDB. “We were excited to hear about their mission, which is very similar to our aim to document everything collectible. So in addition to our partnership, hobbyDB will donate 10% of our net income from the sale of automotive literature to Auto-Archives.” Eventually, this will mean the addition of 250,000 entries to the database. Combining the actual collection and the digital reference will result in any automobile enthusiast’s dream.

To further the partnership, Christian is joining the Auto-Archives Board and William has joined hobbyDB’s Advisory Board.

Besides books about anything auto-related, they are also looking for factory brochures, manuals, event programs, and back issues of car magazines. “Ideally we want to have at least two copies of everything,” said William. “One in very nice condition for preservation, and one for visitors to browse.” Eventually, everything in the library will also be digitized for anyone to browse or read on hobbyDB.

Auto-Archives is designed to be a living collection. Plans include a new, custom-built, climate-controlled building (the archive is is currently housed within the offices of leading automotive publisher Coterie Press). The building will house a Museum, Library, Boutique, Coffee Shop, Reading Room, Art Gallery, and both Movie & Media Rooms, as well as a Photo Library with copying and printing services. The new facility will be open to all automotive journalists, car clubs, researchers and fans, to view the collection, research using the archive, or simply ‘hang-out’ with like-minded people.

Auto-Archives is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, which means if you donate an item to them, you can declare it as a tax write-off. To learn how you can donate your automotive literature to Auto-Archives, you can visit their website. You’ll find lists of what they currently own, specific items they are looking for, and more. 

Also, if you’re an automotive publisher, if you donate a sample of your back catalog to the Auto-Archives, hobbyDB will create a digital official archive for your publishing history as well! Find out more here.