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Collections Overviews - American Studies

American Literature

Scope

In American literature, the greatest breadth and depth of the Library's collections probably lies in its classified holdings. This overview, therefore, emphasizes those holdings while referring secondarily to manuscript, recorded, and microform, and other related formats and materials.

Size

A 1989 survey showed the Library's collections in the classification for American literature numbered approximately 116,000 titles, more than twice as many as the other eighteen large U.S. university libraries surveyed. In addition the Library's holdings include well over 200,000 titles classed as fiction in English, most of which are American works. The Library holds several hundred bibliographies in American literature, as well as numerous additional bibliographies relating to American literature in other areas (drama, fiction, general literature, and individual authors). Finally, many thousands of works of literary significance are classed as general interest magazines, as poetry, drama, and in other parts of the cataloged collections.

General Research Strengths

The main strength of the Library's collections in American literature is comprehensiveness. It has long been the Library's policy to collect all monographs by American authors whose writings are generally regarded as having literary merit, as representing important trends in serious creative writing, or as presenting significant criticism and discussion of literature, and all periodicals whose contents consist principally of these writings. Manuscript materials relating to American literature feature the papers of Walt Whitman and include those of other authors representative of nineteenth- and twentieth-century literary movements, forms, and points of view. Several microform collections supplement the Library's print materials relating to American literature, particularly for early and nineteenth-century books and periodicals.

Areas of Distinction

The Library's collections are very strong in American fiction, drama, poetry, and criticism. Many early imprints and first editions are held by the Library, and several important authors' original manuscripts are represented in the Manuscript Division. Among the Library's more noteworthy holdings in American literature are:

In the Rare Book and Special Collections Division:
- Henry James first editions
- Walt Whitman first and early editions (the pre-eminent Whitman collection)
- Mark Twain first editions (recently acquired and not yet cataloged)
- First editions of modern American authors
- Dime novel collection
- Copyright deposit plays (mostly selected from deposits in the period 1880-1920)
- National Endowment for the Arts collection of small press books (includes all books published with NEA support)
In the Manuscript Division:
- Walt Whitman papers
- Copyright deposit plays (1900 to the present; includes all unpublished plays deposited for copyright and not selected for retention by another specialized division such as Rare Book and Special Collections or Music)
In the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division:
- Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature (voice recordings of American literary figures from the 1940s to the present)

Weaknesses/Exclusions

One of the more notable lapses in the Library's American literature holdings is a severe shortage of early science fiction titles. Many of these were issued only in mass market paperback format, which the Library's policy, until recently, forbade collecting. The Library's collections are also relatively weak in books from alternative or small presses and little magazines. Losses (through theft, improper charging, or misshelving) from the collections are also significant for cataloged works of prominent African American authors, such as Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison.