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Amherst College Library History Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MA.00105

Scope and Contents

The Library History Collection, 1850-1965, contains materials compiled by former Librarian Newton F. McKeon. Mr. McKeon assembled these materials to write a history of the Amherst College Library. This history, however, was never written.

The Library History Collection includes McKeon's notes, copies of library reports and records, ephemera dating from the 19th century, and published and unpublished articles and reports about the Amherst College Library. Most of the material focuses on the late 1800's through the early 1910's. Reports describing the spatial needs of the library dating from 1937, 1959, and 1961 are also included.

Dates

  • Creation: 1850-1987
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1850-1965

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

In general, there is no restriction on access to the Amherst College Library History Collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Requests for permission to publish material from the records should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections.

Extent

0.75 Linear feet (1 archives box, 1 half archives box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Amherst College Library History Collection, 1850-1965, contains materials compiled by former Librarian Newton F. McKeon. Mr. McKeon assembled these materials to write a history of the Amherst College Library. This history, however, was never written. The Library History Collection includes McKeon's notes, copies of library reports and records, ephemera dating from the 19th century, and published and unpublished articles and reports about the Amherst College Library. Most of the material focuses on the late 1800's through the early 1910's. Reports describing the spatial needs of the library dating from 1937, 1959, and 1961 are also included.

Related Materials

The Library History Collection is a useful starting point for information on the Amherst College Library's development. More complete and extensive information is located in the Amherst College Library Records.

Processing Information

When the library history material was organized, original library administrative files were removed from the Library History Collection and returned to the Library Records. The bulk of this material was Librarian Robert S. Fletcher's correspondence but also included other material such as the "Blunder Book" and library staff member Sabra Snell's classification procedures. When duplicate items existed, a copy was retained in the Library History Collection.

Processed:
September 1992-July 1993
By:
Anne Ostendarp, Project Archivist
Emily Silverman, Intern, University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
Tanya Chebotarev, Intern, Simmons College School of Library Science
Status
Completed
Author
Anne Ostendarp
Date
2003
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Repository Details

Part of the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2299