In1990 John Nagy founded Accessible Archives as a hobby based on his deep-seated interest in American history.

John Nagy was born in Connecticut, but raised in Broomall, Pennsylvania. He attended Pennsylvania State University where he received a BS in chemical engineering in 1960. Following graduation John took a position with Allied Chemical in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he and his wife set up house and where their three children were born.

In 1965 John returned to Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the family business founded by his father, New Era Ribbon and Carbon. This company was one of the largest providers of supplies to the business community, and eventually to the computer market. Settling in Willistown Township, John began to cultivate his love of local history by investigating everything he could about the area and soon became known as the unofficial historian of Willistown.

One source of local historical information were paper copies of The Pennsylvania Gazette. Based on his business background, John reasoned that it would be easier to access this material if it was available on a computer. He therefore began to key information into a database, proofing everything as he went along. His ongoing efforts led to personal relationships with history scholars, primarily those at the University of Delaware. These associations led him to assemble his second database, Civil War Newspapers. He then began offering his creations in CD-ROM format to other universities and, as both local and national institutions began to subscribe, Accessible Archives was born. From the beginning it was unique in offering structured, highly accurate rekeyed texts.

As the company grew more of the family joined. As they assumed larger roles in the company’s operation, John was able to devote more time to his passion for history. This culminated in a commission from local government to create the volume A History of Willistown Township, a project that took three years to complete. When the senior Nagy passed away in May 2006, his relationships with local and national history scholars were assumed by the next generation.

Iris Hanney took over the running of the company in 2007. Under her leadership Accessible continued to grow and expand. By 2023 the company published more than 20 databases and served more than 350 customers. New collections such as African American Newspapers of the South had made vital new collections available for in-depth research.

Early in 2023 Coherent Digital began negotiations to acquire Accessible Archives. The Accessible platform needed to be refreshed, and Coherent’s award-winning new platform would benefit from more databases. Investment from Coherent would allow the creation of new databases in American history. So, in June 2023, Accessible Archives became a part of Coherent Digital.

Over the next months we’ll be migrating the databases. We hope to do so with a minimum of hassle for existing customers. We invite you to let us know how we’re doing and how we can improve.

Stephen Rhind-Tutt
President, Coherent Digital, LLC.
September 2023