Science Fiction & Fantasy Research Collection Development Policy
Scope
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Research Collection, one of the largest of its kind in the world, is one of the major collections at Cushing Memorial Library & Archives. Its mission is to chronicle the birth, growth, and evolutionary development of the science fiction and fantasy genres (mostly in the United States), considered broadly. The Collection is designed to support the research interests of scholars across multiple disciplines, as well as the reading interests and curiosity of general readers. The Collection contains materials from across 400 years of genre history, ranging from pre- Frankenstein ‘proto-SF’ through the late 19 th century of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to the Pulp Era (1920s-1930s), to the ‘Golden Age’ (1930s-1940s), through the ‘New Wave’ (1960s-1970s), to the most recently published works of science fiction and fantasy.
Works with no genre content (such as mysteries or thrillers) are not collected, unless they are materials produced by an existing donor and given to the Collection by that donor. Materials from associated genres (such as horror) are not systematically collected, but may be acquired at the discretion of the Curator.
Types of Materials Collected
The Collection contains books (novels, collections, and anthologies), chapbooks, serials, comic books, ephemera, objects, maps, audiovisual materials, works of genre scholarship, and archival collections from authors, scholars, and other genre figures. First or early editions, signed editions, association copies, and editions of other significance are preferred for collecting. However, later editions, internationally printed editions, or popular editions are also acquired in order to document the complete
developmental history of a published text. Materials are collected in all languages and formats. Duplicates of materials are not collected, except in very particular circumstances (i.e. a signed copy of a book for which the Collection already holds an unsigned one) and at the discretion of the Curator.
Collecting Strengths
The Collection is particularly strong in the following:
The published record of American science fiction in the 20 th and 21 st centuries. Of notable importance are large numbers of SF&F paperbacks from the 1950s-1970s, the age in which companies such as Ace and Doubleday pioneered this cheap format that introduced much SF&F to general audiences. Most significant authors are well-represented in the Collection.
The works of Tanith Lee, as donated to Cushing by Lee bibliographer Allison Rich as part of her ongoing “Daughter of the Night’ bibliographic project.
Complete or near-complete runs of the major pulp magazine titles such as Amazing Stories, Astounding Series, Galaxy, Weird Tales, Analog Science Fiction, and Asimov’s Science Fiction .
Archival collections containing the manuscripts and related materials of authors. A particular collecting interest concerns authors in or from Texas and the American Southwest, including Steven Gould, Joe R. Landsale, George R.R. Martin, Ardeth Mayhar, Laura Mixon-Gould, Elizabeth Moon, Howard Waldrop, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Stina Leicht, and Martha Wells. The Collection contains a notinsignificant amount of archival materials from Arthur C. Clarke, the largest collection extent of materials from Andre Norton, and a large number of archival materials from Michael Moorcock.
Fanworks, including fanzines, fanvids, and collections of filksong. The collection contains multiple large collections of media fanzines from the 1960s-2000s.
Sub-Collections of Note
The Maps of Imaginary Places Collection : The MIP Collection is curated jointly by SF&F and Maps, and consists of hundreds of cartographic representations of fictional locations, such as Oz, Narnia, Middle-earth, Westeros, and others. Sources for the materials include books, television show, films, video games, and role-playing games. The collection contains both maps and atlases. It is a growing
collection and a collecting priority. Items for this collections can be purchased by SF&F or/and by Maps.
Sandy Hereld Digitized Media Fanzine Collection : The Hereld Collection is a born-digital collection, stored and made accessible in OAKtrust. It consists of digitized fanzines (mostly fanfiction) relating to media franchises such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Starsky & Hutch, and others. It is a growing
collection, facilitated through fan donor Morgan Dawn.
Current Collecting Foci
Cushing Library continues to acquire works by SF&F authors of significance, both past and present. The Library will also acquire titles of significant literary importance in the genre, including those that have won important industry awards such as the Hugo or Nebula Awards. If, however, a title is purchased for the circulating collection in Evans Library, that same edition will not be purchased for Cushing except in special circumstances, at the determination of the Curator.
The Collection seeks published works that are examples of book art or works issued by fine book presses, such as Dark Oak Press, PS Publishing, and Subterranean Press. Recognizing that the Collection is slanted almost entirely towards English-language works produced in the United States and primarily by white authors, the Library prioritizes the acquisition of works by non-white authors, by female authors, and works written outside North America and the United Kingdom. One of the ultimate goals of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Research Collection is to preserve voices from people and cultures all over the world, so that stories from everywhere and anywhere may find their readers.
The Collection is growing its archival collections by adding the manuscripts of female, non-white, and LGBT authors as a significant component. Recent authors who have donated their papers to the Collection include Beth Cato, Brenda Cooper, A.M. Dellamonica, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Ada Palmer, and Kelly Robson.
Institutional Repository / Digitization Projects
See Sandy Hereld Collection, above.
Connections with Other Cushing Collections
Childrens: The Childrens Collection contains many titles that might be classified as fantasy literature, such as the Alice novels of Lewis Carroll. Because of the overall importance of the SF&F Collection, childrens’ literature titles that are generally classified as “science fiction” or “fantasy” will be acquired for that collection and not for Childrens’. Deciding which is which can be subjective and will require consultation between the Curators for Science Fiction & Fantasy and the Childrens’ Collection.
Lit-Haggard: The Lit-Haggard Collection contains adventure works by Haggard that might be classified as fantasy adventures, including King Solomon’s Mines and She.
Women and Gender Studies: The increasing presence of female and LGBT authors in the SF&F Collection presents natural links with the WGS Collection. There are some genre items in WGS. The significant percentage of slash material in the SF&F fanzine collections represents a notable amount of same-sex narrative, written mainly by cisgender women. In addition, the 1574 Malleus Maleficarium, in tres diuisus partes was purchased jointly by SF&F and WGS (and is curated within SF&F) as an example of a work of significant importance to the missions of both collections.