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Achievements

Library

We have established the IPC Library as a reference and special research library on the first and second floors of IPC Headquarters, for easy access by IPC Management Team and visiting scholars. The library currently comprises approx. 1,000 books, issues of 100 periodicals and 30 boxes with flyers, brochures and leaflets. It includes documentation and literature on:

Paralympic Games and Paralympic Movement
World and Regional Championships
Sports and Disciplines for Persons with a Disability
Rehabilitation
Physical Education and Sport Science
Medical Science
Education and Awareness
Development
Media
Sport History
Sport Sociology
Sport Business and Management
Sport Policies, Politics and Law
Olympic Games and Olympic Movement
Field of Play and Sports Venues
Biographies of Sports Personalities
Reference Books

We have also compiled a bibliography with a wide range of information sources on sport for people with a disability not all of which are available at the Documentation Centre yet. The bibliography is updated regularly, so if you miss an important publication, journal article or website, or would like to donate a book, please contact Ms. Nora Kellermann, Documentation Centre Assistant, at nora.kellermann@paralympic.org.

Information Resources

Archives

We have evaluated existing materials and established a classification system for archival fonds and collections. The IPC Archives currently contain the following fonds (hardcopy and electronic records):

the archives of the International Co-ordinating Committee (ICC) of World Sports Organisations for the Disabled (1982-1989)
the archives of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) (from 1989 to the present): the archives of the IPC departments (“IPC Management Team”), the archives of the IPC's decision-making bodies (“Executive Committee” and “Management Committee” before 2005, afterwards “Governing Board”; Councils and Standing Committees as well as their organizational forerunners; other working groups),
archives from various other provenances,
various archival collections (eg of Paralympic Games and World and Regional Championships-related materials such as manuals and guides, torches, medals, posters, audiovisual materials, textiles, etc)

The collections comprise the following material types:

Press Clippings
Posters
Maps
Paintings, drawings
Digital and paper photographs, slides*
Audiovisual media (CDs, DVDs, VHS and Beta tapes)**
Audiotapes
Torches
Medals, badges
Certificates
Commemorative plaques
Cups, statuettes, sculptures
Souvenirs and merchandising items (pins, mascots, tickets, postcards, etc)
Flags, banners, pennants
Prostheses
Textiles: sportswear, uniforms

*The IPC Photo Archive , which is a comprehensive selection of Paralympic-related images, is managed by the Marketing & Communication Department. It is used for both internal and external purposes, i.e. to allow IPC publications and the IPC website to be designed with high quality photographs, and to facilitate image requests which the IPC receives from both members and external parties. The Photo Archive currently contains approx. 40,000 digital images on file or CD, as well as approx. 1,000 paper photographs and slides. For more information, please visit the Media Centre .

**Most professional tapes with Paralympic Games footage (mainly Betacam SP and Digital Betacam) are managed and marketed by Input Media, London. For more information, please visit the Media Centre .

Exhibition

The IPC offers interested organizations, companies and individuals worldwide to exhibit items from the Documentation Centre's collections.

Among these collections is the Paralympic Photo Exhibition “Spirit in Motion”. In 2003, a photo exhibition with over 40 images from the Paralympic Games in Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Salt Lake City 2002 was shown in Brugges, Belgium. Thousands of persons came to see the very successful exhibition. Since then, it has been updated with photos from the ATHENS 2004 and Torino 2006 Paralympic Games and has been successfully exhibited around the world, for instance during the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games, at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne and at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

All the images are taken by Lieven Coudenys, the official IPC Photographer, who donated the framed images to the IPC. In this exhibition, Mr. Coudenys presents images of different Paralympic sports and of athletes with different disabilities. He not only gives an insight into Paralympic sport, but at the same time depicts true sporting heroes. You will get a first impression of the images by visiting the following website: http://www.coudenys.be/en/freelance/paralympics.htm.

If you are interested in hosting the exhibition, please contact Ms. Stefanie Pohle, Information & Records Manager, at stefanie.pohle@paralympic.org.

Scope of Fonds and Collections

Our library publications and archival fonds and collections offer insights into historical, sociological, psychological, medical, economic and management aspects of sport for people with a disability. They focus on three areas:

1. International Paralympic Committee (IPC): development from a volunteer to a professional organization, administrative evolution, relationship to membership, etc.
2. Paralympic Games: origin and history, increase in organizational complexity and professionalism, growth of media interest and public awareness, competition results, etc.
3. World and Regional Championships: increase in organizational complexity and professionalism, growth of media interest and public awareness, competition results, etc.

The IPC Documentation Centre currently stores more than 1,500 boxes and folders, of which approximately 750 are Paralympic Games-related materials. For an overview of how the quantity of the Paralympic Games materials is distributed according to Games editions and functional areas see:

Quantity Charts

Research Facilities

Researchers who are interested in conducting research on the Paralympic Movement, and who would therefore like to consult materials kept in the IPC Documentation Centre, are asked to fill in and sign the Consultation Request Form and return it to the IPC in advance. The IPC will then consider approval and will inform the researcher about its decision as soon as possible. We have furnished a small office with PC and Internet access which serves as a reading room during the researcher's visit at IPC Headquarters.

Proper Storage

The archives has been equipped with approx. 600 linear metres of shelves as well as with a large cupboard for proper storage of our poster collection. We only use acid-free boxes and folders for the storage of archival materials. Also, we have created an improved climate in our four basement storage rooms through the installation of an adequate heating system and dehumidifiers. Temperature and humidity are constantly monitored with the help of thermometers/hygrometers.

Cataloguing Software

Sophisticated database software (ADLiB Museum/Archive/Library) has been installed to register and manage archival records, exhibition items, audiovisual materials, library books and periodicals. The database has been specifically tailored to the needs of the IPC Management Team and IPC constituents.

Procedures

We have developed information management policies governing the access to records, records disposal and the use of the library and archives, and acquisition strategies for books, journals, historic objects and documents. In the process, we have obtained legal advice on copyright and data protection issues.

Funding

The IPC Documentation Centre has secured annual grants from the Rhineland Regional Council (LVR) since 2004 in order to purchase archiving equipment.

Networking

We have initiated contact with experts on archiving, library and information science, and museum planning, as well as with sports museums, archives, universities, and study centres worldwide.
Throughout the development process external consultants from the Cologne/Bonn region have been engaged who donated their time and expertise to help us. In particular, the IPC Documentation Centre is supported by the Archiv- und Museumsberatung (=Archive and Museum Consultancy) of the Rhineland Regional Council (LVR).

The IPC is a corporate member of: