The 100,000+ volumes of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis
Library comprise an extraordinary collection of American and
international insurance materials. The library maintains sets of: Forms, policies and contracts
Directories of insurance companies and associations,
worldwide
Insurance Department reports to state legislatures and selected
insurance commissioner annual reviews from around the world
Loose-leaf services for insurance law research (reporters,
treatises, litigation reports, case and jury verdicts)
Insurance periodicals in continuous runs, some dating back to the
mid-1800's
Insurance laws and regulations from the 50 states and around the
world
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The diversity of our collection is reflected in terms
of: | Medium | Our library contains nearly 100,000 books; 500
microfilm and fiche based resources, primarily in our Government
Documents Collection; 50 audio and videotapes; 40 CD ROM products;
several databases mounted on the hard drives in the library PCs,
including Standard & Poor's Classic Ratings database; and
access to two major online database systems, Reuters Insurance
Briefing and Lexis-Nexis, and the Internet, including gateway
access to numerous business and insurance industry databases. | | Country of Origin | Publications come such countries as Canada, the
United Kingdom, Israel, France, Taiwan, Republic of Korea,
Australia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Finland,
Spain and Sweden. | | Language | While the majority of material in the library is in
English, several languages are prominently represented, including
Russian, Chinese, German, Norwegian, French, Korean, Japanese.
Several countries send us their law and regulations both in
original language and English translation. |
The Davis Library has historical as well as contemporary
collections, with the oldest volume dating back to 1569 (A Treatise
on Insurance, by Benvenuto Straccha, published in Venice Call# M010
S) and an extensive collection of insurance policies and documents
tracing the development of insurance terminology and contracts
since 1665.
Highlights of the Davis Library’s Special collections
include: Notable documents such as a life insurance policy for an
American slave, and a record of funded annuities for 1775 that
includes Marie Antoinette, “the present Queen of France.” In the Marine Insurance area, the Winter
Collection of Marine Insurance is a world leader in terms of the
scope and depth of the collected works. It also serves as a
memorial to the late president and chairman of the Atlantic Mutual
Insurance Company, William David Winter. The Association of Average
Adjusters’ collection of American and British maritime law is also
housed in the Davis Library. The Heber B. Churchill Earthquake Collection,
donated in 1950, provides detailed accounts of major catastrophes
from the beginning of the 20th century, among them the Tokyo
Earthquake of 1923; the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906;
typhoons in Japan from 1920 - 1940; and hurricanes in the North
Atlantic, New England and the Caribbean. Since the 1950’s,
the Library staff has purchased and catalogued all earthquake
material coming to its attention, making the Davis Library’s
collection on natural disasters a leader worldwide today. Additional Specialized Collections
Various insurance organizations have entrusted their
collections to the Davis Library. For example, The Society of
Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society have selected the
Davis Library as custodian for their collections. Archives
The Davis Library contains the archives of The Insurance Society
of New York, The College of Insurance, The American Academy of
Insurance Medicine, and other important groups such as the
Insurance Company Education Directors Society (ICEDS) and the
newsletters and scrapbooks of the Insurance Women of New York. Government Documents
In 1965, the Library was designated as a selective
Federal Depository. As such, it receives core (basic) publications
automatically, and selects additional items that enhance its
insurance collection. It compiles insurance department reports,
insurance laws and regulations of the 50 states, and statistical
reports.
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