Access to Records and Publications
We have received the following information from the NAL in December 2022:
“For the General Collection, your members can do an advanced search for American Dairy Goat Association as a phrase in our catalog, AGRICOLA . Attached is an example. There might also be some things in the Dictionary Catalog Vol. 4 Catalog Record: Dictionary catalog of the National… | HathiTrust Digital Library. Here’s information on requesting materials, Borrow Materials | National Agricultural Library (usda.gov). If members have any questions on borrowing materials, please contact 301-504-5717 or email nal-docdel@usda.gov.”
“In Special Collections, we have the American Dairy Goat Association Records. Click on the finding aid to get an idea of the materials. Depending on the request, we may be able to scan cards and forward them. If the request is large, it may be best for researchers to access the records onsite. Unfortunately, we are having building work done, so we are not open to the public. That may change in the spring. Please have members contact us through Ask a Question, as you did.”
Scope and Content Note – NAL
According to the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) Web site, the ADGA is the largest dairy goat registry in the United States, with over one million animals registered since its inception. The ADGA collection spans the years 1914-2000 and contains animal registration records, other animal records, and miscellaneous publications of the American Milk Goat Record Association, the Nubian Milk Goat Register, and the American Dairy Goat Association. Materials consist of animal record cards, registry applications, pedigree journals, annual meeting minutes, handbooks, directories, and a yearbook. These materials are organized into four series, and there are no restrictions on access or use of the collection.
Animal registration cards make up the bulk of the collection. There are two different size formats, which are organized as separate series.
Series I contains 3-inch by 5-inch index cards dated between circa 1930 and 1962, the bulk of which represent information about individual animals. This series also contains herd name cards.
Series II consists of individual animal registrations dated 1948 to 1978 on 5-inch by 8-inch visible record cards, which are similar to the Kardex forms widely used by libraries for serials recordkeeping before computers came into use. Both series of animal cards contain information such as registration number, owners and breeders, pedigree, records of transfer, and tattoos. Animal cards represent the sole source records for approximately 68,000 dairy goats and are of interest to researchers tracing animal pedigrees. Earlier registry records (circa 1900 until the 1930s) and those from the 1970s onward are kept by ADGA at their headquarters in Spindale, North Carolina.
Series III consists of Advanced Registry applications. Official registration certificates were issued to the animals’ owners and were retained by them. Some of the applications in Series III include separate owner statements on blue index cards. These statements were originally glued to the backs of the applications. A number of the statement cards have separated from their corresponding application forms, and the glue used to attach them has stained the documents. This separation caused some of the statement cards to fall out of their original binder and become lost prior to the records’ transfer to NAL.
Series IV consists of publications produced by the the American Milch Goat Record Association, the American Milk Goat Record Association, the Nubian Milk Goat Register, and the American Dairy Goat Association.
The condition of the collection materials varies from good to fragile and deteriorated. The Series II animal cards are in good condition, but sections of Series I were badly damaged by moisture and mold in their previous storage environment. The information on severely damaged cards was preserved by trimming moldy edges and placing the trimmed cards in polyester sleeves. Archival photocopies were made of a few cards that could not be salvaged. Among the publications in Series IV, some issues of the Nubian Milk Goat Register and the early volumes of The American Milch Goat Record are in fragile condition, with loose covers and brittle pages.
Series Description – NAL
Series I. Animal Records – Index Cards. Circa 1930-1962. 75 boxes.
The index cards in Series I contain records of individual animals and herd names registered with the ADGA. Cards include information on animal name, pedigree and ownership. Some animal records include progeny lists, awards won, or official milking test results. Herd name cards are inter-filed with the individual animal cards, and the series is arranged alphabetically. Names beginning with numerals are filed at the end of the series.
Series II. Animal Records – Visible Records Forms. 1948-1978. 269 boxes.
This series consists of dairy goat registration cards containing animal name, pedigree and ownership information recorded on 5-inch by 8-inch records forms. The records in this series are arranged alphabetically; names beginning with numerals are filed at the end of the series.
Series III. American Milk Goat Record Association Registration Applications. 1947-1956. 20 boxes.
Series III contains Advanced Register applications for individual animals. Several different types of application records are represented in the series, including Advanced Register herd sires and does, production certificates, and herd improvement division registration. The series is further divided into two groups corresponding to the two binders in which ADGA originally arranged the applications. Records within each document type grouping are arranged in alphabetical order by animal name. Some of the record forms are accompanied by blue statement cards signed by owners verifying that the named animal had not received supplements intended to increase milk production.
Series IV. Publications. 1914-2000. 6 boxes.
This series consists of publications of the ADGA, including some issued under the organization’s previous names, the American Milch Goat Record Association and the American Milk Goat Record Association (AMGRA). The series contains published pedigree record journals, annual meeting minutes, association guidebooks and handbooks, directories, and a yearbook. The items in this series are grouped by title. Multiple editions of a publication are arranged chronologically within each title group.
University of California – Davis … Library The UC-Davis Library has an extensive collection of dairy goat materials, including journals. This link provides a way to search their collection and request materials.
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