Collection Development Statement for Special Collections
Penn State University Libraries
Finalized, 10 January 2014
Selectors updated, 28 July 2015
Primary Selectors:
Henry Pisciotta, Interim Head, Special Collections Library
Jackie Esposito, University Archivist
Jim Quigel, Historical Collections and Labor Archives
Sandra Stelts, Curator of Rare Books
Other Selectors:
Ben Goldman, Digital Records Archivist
Paul Dzyak, Sports Archivist
Tim Babcock, AV/Media Coordinator
Heidi Abbey, Harrisburg
Jane Ingold, Behrends
Mark Podvia, Dickinson
A grid of collecting areas with primary selectors noted is included as Appendix A.
Purpose and Programmatic Information
The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, located on Penn State's University Park
Campus, preserves and provides access to over 200,000 printed volumes, more than 25
million archival records and manuscripts, and another million photographs, maps, prints,
and audio-visual items, and digital assets. In addition, the Special Collections Library works
closely with special collections located throughout the Penn State University Libraries. By
acquiring and developing significant research collections and enhancing access to its
unique primary source materials the Special Collections Library serves Penn State’s and the
University Libraries strategic goals of teaching, research, service, and outreach. The Special
Collections Library builds upon its traditional core collecting strengths and collaborates
with campus curators, library subject experts, and faculty to identify, acquire, and develop
collections of enduring interdisciplinary research value. The Special Collections Library
also explores new collection development opportunities in emerging academic programs
and burgeoning research areas in alignment with the collecting priorities of the University
Libraries. The Special Collections Library adheres to the principle of building and
stewarding its primary resources as one integrated special collections, geographically
dispersed, equally available to all campuses in support of academic programs, teaching, and
research.
Scope of the Collections
The core collecting strengths are rooted in the land grant legacy of Penn State University
and the building of formative and distinctive collections centering on University
institutional history, local and state history, and the acquisition of rare books and
manuscript materials for the study of American and English literature. From these modest
beginnings, the size and scope of Special Collections Library holdings expanded, reflecting
both the evolution of Penn State University as a major academic research institution, and
the dynamic and diverse research interests of its faculty. Moving beyond local and
parochial collecting initiatives the Special Collections Library has worked with its faculty,
alumni network, and donors to acquire and develop collections of regional (Mid-Atlantic),
national, and international significance in its core subject areas and strategically pursue
collection development opportunities in new and emerging research areas supported by
active academic programs and leveraged by faculty, researchers, and library subject
liaisons. The following represent the active core subject collecting areas of Special
Collections:
University and Local History
Collections and records documenting the history of the University in its various roles and
contexts within higher education, the careers and activities of prominent faculty and
alumni, intercollegiate athletics and sports history, student life and town and gown
relations are an important cornerstone of Special Collections Library collection
development. In addition, the Library also collects and houses the permanent records of the
University as outlined in University policy AD-35. Records covered by AD-35 are not
explicitly included as part of this policy statement.
Special Collections also places a priority on acquiring collections, records, and other
primary source materials documenting Centre County history including: early founders,
forge-based iron production, businesses, the records of churches and social organizations,
and family history and genealogy. Special Collections holdings of maps, town plans, and
architectural and landscape architectural records, blueprints, and drawings document the
historical growth and development of the University campus and its physical plant as well
the local community of State College.
Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic Culture
Functioning as an important cultural repository for the central region of Pennsylvania and
citizens of the commonwealth, the Special Collections Library collects print materials, rare
books, archival records and manuscripts, maps, and photographic collections covering
Pennsylvania social, economic, political, and cultural history. Primary research areas
include: Pennsylvania writers (John O’Hara, Conrad Richter, and John Updike);
Pennsylvania German culture including the history of Anabaptist sects in Pennsylvania
(Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites); Pennsylvania German Fraktur and Broadsides;
Pennsylvania and the Civil War; Pennsylvania business, labor, agricultural, mining, and
forestry history; and the personal papers and letter collections of notable Pennsylvanians
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including prominent legislators, artists, musicians, folklorists and cultural figures.
Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic regional historical maps and related cartographic materials
(atlases, surveys, mine engineering maps) are actively collected and archived within the
scope of Special Collections.
History of the Arts
The Special Collections Library actively collects print and primary source materials
devoted to the history of the arts —covering American and European art and architecture,
landscape architecture, historical and fine art photography, dance and theatre. Art
education and the history of drawing are also important collection development areas
being cultivated by the Special Collections Library. Special Collections archives original
artwork such as posters, graphic art, cartoons, illustrations and fine art photograph
collections. The history of the theater, set design, and architectural drawings and
blueprints documenting the evolution of theater lighting are also important collecting areas
subject areas targeted by Special Collections. Special Collections also features photograph
collections covering the history of photography (Heinz and Bridget Henisch Collections on
the History of Photography) and architectural photography (Fay S. Lincoln Collections).
Collections and Collecting Areas of Significance
Since its inception in 1954 the Special Collections Library has acquired and developed
research collections of national and international prominence. These unique collection
holdings, interdisciplinary in nature, have and will continue to contribute to the
advancement of the academy, scholarship, and the sharing of information and knowledge
with the worldwide research community. The Special Collections Library seeks to develop
and promote the full research potential of these flagship collections by assisting visiting
researchers through travel research grants, incorporates primary resource materials in its
course and course-related instruction, and highlights its collection materials through
outreach activities such as public lectures and exhibitions. Special Collections will continue
to maintain and actively build upon these collecting areas and leverage resources in pursuit
of new collections development opportunities.
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Utopian/ Social Communitarian Tradition/Science Fiction (Lewis Collection, etc.)
Pennsylvania German Culture/ German Literature in English Translation/German
Annabaptist Tradition (Allison-Shelley, Stapleton, Gains, Hostetler, etc.)
Art Education and Theory/ History of Drawing/Children’s Art (Anderson-Ellis,
Henderson, Judy Chicago, National Art Education Assoc., Lowenfeld, etc.)
Literary/Prominent Writers (O’Hara, Richter, Updike, Hemingway)
History and Theory of Rhetoric /Rhetorical and Literary Criticism (Burke)
Labor Archives (United Steel Workers; United Mine Workers, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO)
History of Sport and Society, Olympic History, Intercollegiate Athletics (Smith, Lucas,
NASH, Wettstone, Brundage Papers, PSU Intercollegiate Athletics Department Records)
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History of Agricultural Cooperative Extension / Forestry and Conservation
(Pennsylvania Cooperative Extension Records, Mount Alto Forestry Collection, Myra
Dock Collection)
History and Regulation of Nuclear Power (Three Mile Island Collection, Palladino
Papers, Remick Papers)
New and Emerging Areas
The Special Collections Library strives to stay in alignment, where possible, with the overall
Libraries collection and campus strengths. We also want the collections to be relevant for
future researchers and to increase the diversity presence in our collections. To that end,
special collections curators have identified the following areas for either expansion and/or
development.
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Energy and Environment including Three Mile Island and Regulatory Oversight (Three
Mile Island; new initiative to document Marcellus Shale hydro-fracturing)
Critical Philosophy of Race (a bequest of 16,000 volumes in this area has been made to
the libraries and we are already collecting content to complement the collection)
Social Justice (meshes with our historical labor collecting and also relates to some of
feminist/women’s history collections we have recently acquired such as Joan Chittister)
Graphic Arts (recent collections such as Lynd Ward, George Meredith, and Chip Kidd
pertain to this area)
Coordinating and Cooperative Efforts
The affiliated Penn State University Commonwealth campuses have also acquired and
developed special collections materials documenting campus institutional history, local and
regional history that ties in with campus, and a significant research collections that are
archived at campus locations owing to donor mandated agreements with campuses as a
condition for acquiring the collection. Among the significant collections housed at Penn
State Commonwealth campuses are: the Alice Marshall Collection (Penn State-Harrisburg);
Hammermill Paper Company Records (Penn State-Erie-The Behrend College); and the Coal
and Coke Heritage Center archives (Penn State-Fayette). There are five types of special
collections that Commonwealth Campus Libraries may maintain as outlined by University
Libraries Policy UL-SP03: campus history, local community history, special regional
interest, donor mandated collections as per deed of gift agreement, and curriculum-specific
materials selected and archived to document specific academic or graduate programs
germane to the campus location. Commonwealth Campus Libraries do NOT have to
maintain any or all of the above. It is entirely the joint prerogative of the campus Chancellor
in consultation with the Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications.
Decisions to create or maintain any of the collections described above should be entered
into judiciously with consideration of the staffing, facilities, and descriptive requirements
of special collections at any location.
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Conclusion and next steps
The Special Collections Library sees this document as the starting point for continuing
development and assessment of its collections policies. Given the complex and
interdisciplinary of the Library’s holdings, we see the following as our next steps:
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Create separate policy statements for active collecting areas
Develop a process to assess the value and effectiveness of the new and emerging
collecting areas
Conduct a benchmarking study of active and new collecting areas to see what research
collections also collect in these areas
Review and update this policy annually
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