Featured in the July 2010 issue of SCIENCE FICTION STUDIES is an article by Rob Latham listing “Library Collections and Archives of SF and Related Materials” throughout the world. If you’re interested in the whole article, click here. The part I was most interested in was:
The George Kelley Paperback and Pulp Fiction Collection at the University at Buffalo is comprised of over 30,000 paperback novels and pulp magazines that date generally from the 1930s through the 1980s. The Kelley Collection includes 8,000-plus science fiction paperbacks and anthologies, along with major sf and fantasy magazines and fanzines. All items in the Kelley Collection have been catalogued, and are searchable via BISON, our online catalog, and via WorldCat. The collection’s Web site at http://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/kelley/ is a useful starting point for those interested in learning more about our holdings. The collection began, quite simply, because UB alumnus George Kelley enjoyed reading popular fiction. He started saving paperbacks as an adolescent after his mother threw out his comic book collection one summer while he was away at camp. Kelley, who earned an MA and a PhD from UB, worked for many years as a computer consultant, traveling extensively and collecting paperbacks and magazines in various popular genres wherever he went. His collection eventually grew so large that its weight began to damage the floors of his house, so in 1994, he donated more than 25,000 volumes to the UB Libraries. Kelley predicted that academic interest in science fiction would continue to grow, and he wanted to insure that researchers would have access to sf materials that might otherwise be lost because most libraries did not collect such items.
Major sf authors represented in the Kelley Collection include Brian W. Aldiss, Poul Anderson, Piers Anthony, Ray Bradbury, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Arthur C. Clarke, Samuel R. Delany, Gordon R. Dickson, Philip K. Dick, George Alec Effinger, Harlan Ellison, Ursula K. Le Guin, H.P. Lovecraft, Joanna Russ, Clifford D. Simak, Timothy Zahn, and Roger Zelazny. In many cases, multiple editions of individual titles are available. Sf periodicals in the collection include a complete set of Galaxy magazine, from its first issue in 1950 until it ceased publication in the 1980s. The collection’s many fanzines range from simple photocopies to complex, illustrated publications, including a full run of perhaps the most famous, Locus, from its earliest mimeographed editions in the 1970s. A notable feature of the Kelley Collection is that most items are in remarkably good condition. This is due in large part to the fact that George Kelley stored each paperback in a plastic bag, thus helping to protect the highly acidic paper. Recent initiatives related to the Kelley Collection include the addition of selected science-fiction cover art images to UBdigit, the University’s online repository for interdisciplinary digital collections. Metadata analysis of each UBdigit image facilitates searching for character types, clothing, objects, weapons, scenery, and other depicted elements. As a non-circulating collection, all Kelley Collection materials must be used on-site in the UB Libraries’ Special Collections Research Room, 420 Capen Hall. Arrangements may be made to view collection materials by contacting Special Collections staff at 716-645-2917 or via e-mail at <lib-archives@buffalo.edu>
Love it!
The SCIENCE FICTION STUDIES article surprised me with the number of SF collections there are, Bill. But they forgot to list the one in Alvin.
George-you are a rock star!
So far, no groupies, Patti. I’m just lucky SUNY at Buffalo is taking good care of those thousands of paperbacks and pulp magazines.
George, you just may be the most famous person I know.
I never sought fame, Drongo. I was just trying to find a Good Home for my collection. SUNY at Buffalo was the right choice!
I’m waiting for George to get a pizza named after him at Pizza Junction.
My favorite pizza at PIZZA JUNCTION is a double-cheese, onions, and hot pepper pizza, Jeff. Smoke will come out of your ears, it’s so hot!
Great, just great. Really nice to see the GKC included in the article. All bow to the Kelley, a book and periodical geek of the highest order.
Do you ever miss having them right there at hand, George?
What would that Pizza have on it?
Thanks for the kind words, Rick. I love all pizzas (my favorite food group!). But my favorite is the PIZZA JUNCTION double-cheese, onions, and hot pepper pizza. It’s smokin’!
Reading Latham’s article I was struck (but not surprised) by the fact that most of these big collections have as their foundation the collecting mania of one man/fan [the one big exception is Bowling Green, thanks to Ray Browne]. Without the passion of invaluable loonies like yourself, George, they wouldn’t exist. The university academics and professional archivists/librarians couldn’t be counted on to assemble or even envision such a thing as a comprehensive collection of SF books, mags & fanzines. At least some of them — as at Buffalo — had the sense to realize the value of what they had when it was dropped in their laps.
I started collecting paperbacks because libraries didn’t buy them in the Sixties, Art. In the Seventies, I had a consulting job that required plenty of travel. Once my consulting gig for the day was done, I’d explore the used bookstores in whatever town I was in. Now, those bookstores are gone and the publishing world is in crisis. Collections like mine stand as reminders of a vastly different time.
Jackie also said that pizza is her favorite food, George, so you’re in good company.
If you and Jackie visit Western New York again, Jeff, I’ll be happy to take you to PIZZA JUNCTION.
And don’t forget your basement!That’s an even bigger treat.
Jeff Meyerson has seen my basement, Patti. But that was a few thousand less books ago…
I wonder if and when I might donate my collection. The thought of parting with it is still a wrench…and so is the prospect of continuing to shuffle the several hundred boxes of it…
Start now to investigate the best place for your collection, Todd. I was fortunate that SUNY at Buffalo has a popular culture legacy because of the influence of Leslie Fiedler.