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Visit the Information Research Center (IRC) to research your next book, work on a thesis paper, prepare for Grand Slam coverage, view old match and interview tapes, search for a book inspiration, and discover interesting details about the rich history of tennis! The IRC is a comprehensive and fascinating tennis archive at the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum featuring more than 350,000 items. The collection ranges from tennis magazines and event programs to rare photographs, historic audio and video files, and personal documents belonging to great tennis champions and administrators. In addition, the library offers great insight into Newport’s social and architectural history. Highlights of the collection include the original architectural plans for the Newport Casino — the National Historic Landmark facility that was home to the very first U.S. National Lawn Tennis Championships in 1881, and now houses the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, as well as player draws and documents from those early U.S. Nationals.

“The Information Research Center at the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum is the equivalent of a sleeper player in a draw, a tremendous off-the-beaten path resource that enables visitors to play time traveler. On multiple occasions, I’ve used the center to research and contextualize articles and television pieces. While the visits were ostensibly for work, they quickly became immensely enchanting.” — Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated & Tennis Channel

“The archivists at the Information Research Center helped make my research trip productive, while the setting of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum made the visit memorable. A rich collection of published and unpublished records, a well-crafted museum exhibition, and grass court tennis all under the roof of a Gilded Age casino, I found working at the ITHF a wonderful experience. I plan to return soon.” — Greg Ruth, Ph.D. Student, History Department of Loyola University, Chicago