Detailed History

The Friends of the Air Force Academy Library was incorporated in February 1987 as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization.  Since its inception The Friends operated exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes.  The principal mission of The Friends of the Air Force Academy Library is to enhance the quality of the Academy’s McDermott Library as an educational, research, scientific, and cultural institution.  Ultimately, The Friends helps the McDermott Library grow in stature, thereby strengthening the United States Air Force Academy’s prestige. 

Initially formed under the guidance of three former Superintendents of the Air Force Academy, The Friends continue to rely on the leadership of former Academy senior staff members to meet its goals.  The Directors of The Friends include five former Superintendents of the Academy, a former Director of the Academy Library and a number of distinguished Air Force officers and community leaders.  There are three primary advisors representing the Academy Faculty, the Association of Graduates and the Director of the McDermott Library.

The Friends support enables the McDermott Library to broaden its scope, to pursue projects, to create publications, and to expand its activities and services beyond those made possible with Air Force allocated funds.  The enlargement and enrichment of the holdings of the McDermott Library through gifts and bequests from graduates of the Air Force Academy, military members, civilians and corporations is a major goal.

From its beginning, The Friends has worked with the Clark Special Collections Branch of the Library to acquire and preserve unique original historical collections of personal papers including records, diaries and photographs that are of special significance to the mission and history of the USAF and the Academy.  The Friends has also received gifts of rare books and artwork, memorabilia, films and electronic media dealing with aeronautical and airpower themes.  The Clark Special Collections Branch contains a significant body of personal papers donated to the Academy by many distinguished leaders in the history of aviation, the Air Force and the Air Force Academy.  Over 1000 individual collections provide graphic insights from man’s early attempts to master flight through the evolution of military air power.

The Friends are deeply involved with the many McDermott Library holdings that capture and preserve the rich heritage and tradition of our Air Force and Air Force Academy.  For example, The Friends has assisted in the enrichment, preservation, and conservation of the unique Southeast Asia Prisoner of War Collection; the Stalag Luft III Collection; the historical collections of the RAF Eagle Squadrons of World War II; the historical collection of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP); the official archives of the Air Force Academy; and the Colonel Richard Gimbel Aeronautical History Collection. 

The Friends published a highly acclaimed catalogue of the Gimbel Collection, The Genesis of Flight, that was accompanied by a state-of-the-art compact disc (CD).  Authored by Lt. Gen. A. P. Clark, USAF, and sponsored by The Friends of the Air Force Academy Library and the Association of Graduates, Falconry at the United States Air Force Academy has been co-published with Fulcrum Publishing of Golden Colorado.  An accompanying digital video disc (DVD) was also published. 

On April 1, 2004, The Friends, in cooperation with the Association of Graduates, officially began the celebration of the Air Force Academy’s 50th anniversary with a reception for over 200 people and the initial screening of the long awaited DVD, Expect Great Things.  The evening was the culmination of over two years of hard work by The Friends, the Association of Graduates, and Word One, Inc.  For the next 59 minutes, the audience sat enthralled with the views of key events of the Academy’s first 50 years, video interviews with a number of the people who were instrumental in building the institution as well as graduates who shared their insights into the Academy, their experiences, and what being a graduate of this great institution meant to them.

Since early 2006, The Friends have been involved in a multi-year project that reflects its commitment to being the premier organization dedicated to recording and preserving the heritage of the Air Force Academy. Available material dealing with the adult lives of the Air Force Academy graduates whose names are currently inscribed on the Academy’s Graduate War Memorial Wall has been assembled into a Memorial Wall database.  A link to the database is available on this website. 

The Friends continue to sponsor the Honor Book Commemorative Program with the associated Honor Certificates permanently displayed in the Clark Special Collections Branch of the McDermott Library.  This program recognizes individuals and units that participated in virtually every American conflict as well as honoring a wide variety of individuals including Academy faculty and staff, spouses, cadets, and graduates.  To date, more than 1000 individuals, units, and organizations have been recognized.