The Roger G. Barry Archives and Resource Center (ARC) at NSIDC is an information resource for people studying Earth's frozen regions, the history of science, or past climate related to the Earth’s frozen regions. ARC is located at NSIDC's offices at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is open to the public.

ARC offers a unique set of collections focused on both science and history in the Earth’s frozen regions, including the Arctic, the Antarctic, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, frozen ground, and more. The information and resources at ARC support NSIDC’s mission “to improve our understanding of the Earth’s frozen regions” and the Earth as a system.

The ARC Archives specializes in historical science materials. Its holdings include thousands of maps, photographs, prints, expedition journals, and other items of interest to those researching the history of science or studying past climate.

The ARC Resource Center holds more than 44,000 cryospheric-related monographs, serials, reprints, videos, maps, atlases, microforms, and CD-ROMs. We currently receive over 40 periodicals and newsletters relating to the Earth’s frozen regions and to remote sensing of ice and snow.

Mission

ARC’s mission is twofold: to preserve and maintain the historical materials it collects, husbanding the materials and providing access for researchers, scientists, students, and the public at large; and to support NSIDC’s mission.

ARC is named for the first director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Dr. Roger Barry, who has dedicated much of his career to building and supporting the library and analog archives collections since they arrived in Boulder in 1976. See the Roger Barry Biography for more information about Dr. Barry and his research.