VIII.3. Shelf Lists & Internal Files

Owned by Vernica Downey
Last updated: Nov 02, 2023 by Graham Skinner

** THIS PAGE NEEDS TO BE UPDATED DUE TO SOME MATERIALS BEING RELOCATED DURING RENOVATION **

Shelflists:

While all card shelf lists for printed material were closed as of January 2006 (and many more ceased being added to much earlier), because of the vagaries of time and recon, many of them remain useful in cataloging and retrieval. These files include:

File

Contents

Location

Houghton shelflist

All of the classes found in the Guide to the Houghton Classification Schemes

BAL Room with Typ in Keats Room and TypDr in Hofer office in Basement

Pusey P2N, Houghton Keats Room (starting *SCA8.100.B875 v.25)

Keats shelflist

Shelflist of the Keats Collection

The Associate Librarian for Technical Services office (Pusey 1 North)

Theatre shelflist

Great deal not in HOLLIS

  • Printed bks (main entry);
  • Mss. catalog (main entry);
  • Shelf list
  • Changed nos.

Theatre Reading Room


Pusey P2N

Lamont (Curatorial files area)

Changed Number shelflist

Two sequences – Widener call numbers changed to Houghton call numbers and Houghton call numbers that have been changed

Near the workstation on SB

Pusey P2N

Widener shelflist (aka Widener "Transfer" shelflist)

Books now residing in Houghton under their old Widener numbers

Near the workstation on SB

Houghton Sub-Basement across from workstation

Widener Old Catalog (OC)

Entire contents of the old Widener card catalog

Fiche near workstation on SB

Houghton card catalog (aka the "Bridge" catalog)

Alphabetic sequence only; filing ceased ca. 1987

Fiche in RR Houghton Consultation Room

Newspaper card file (aka Colonial newspapers)

Uncataloged newspapers, by date and location

("Houghton Newspapers" card catalog - Lamont)

Card file behind the RR

Card boxes in Houghton RR on shelves

"Exlibris" file

Containing sequences of bookplates and dedicatees as well (filing ceased ca. 1992?)

Sub-Basement (electronic copy in OASIS: A-D, E-K, L-Q, R-Z)

Houghton Sub-Basement

Printers, printing specimens


Houghton Sub-Basement

Philip Hofer's reference collection rd catalog


Houghton Hofer Inner Office


Imprint files (extensive)

Chronological and geographical

Lamont (Curatorial files area)

STC imprint file


Lamont (Curatorial files area)

Theatre files


Lamont (Curatorial files area)

First lines


Lamont (Curatorial files area)

Broadsides (Cataloged)


Lamont (Curatorial files area)

Gay

John Gay Collection (from Widener)

Sub near the Aeon station and Lamont

Pusey P2N, Lamont (Curatorial files area)

"Bibl points" file

Of interesting bibliographic features, also including bookbindings

Mezzanine

Pusey P1N across from communal printer

Hofer card catalog

Contains material of interest to the Graphic Arts collection, not only Typ

P & GA Study Room

Houghton Hofer Inner Office

In addition, while not strictly card shelflists, the following are useful guides focused on the enumeration of our collections:

  • Bound accession books
    From 1941 (the beginning of Houghton) till 2001. The entire sequence has been digitized, and the books are now stored at HD.
  • Amory
    In 1983 Hugh Amory produced Printed Books and Ephemera: A Guide to the Catalogues, Finding Lists, and Special Files with a List of Uncataloged Collections (link to HOLLIS record). While now dated, it is a very thorough list and valuable for being the only printed account of some of our collections.
  • Annotated bibliographies
    Author, STC, Evans, etc. – most housed in RR; some held in Houghton Sub-Basement
  • Bound Widener shelflists
    There are multiple Widener bound shelf lists of specific collections kept in SB near the Aeon workstation. As some of the titles in them have been reclassed, they can be helpful in tracking down old volumes. The most prominent ones are:
    • Hearn
    • William James
    • Kipling
    • Lincoln

Internal files:

Historically, the department has maintained certain internal documentation relating to the books cataloged. The largest and most active of them are two sequences consisting of material removed from books; items removed are placed in acid-free folders and filed in call number order.

  • The Bibliographic File is maintained for all collections except for those in P&GA. It is housed on the Mezzanine Pusey P1N and also contains Conservation Treatment reports from Weissman
  • The Printing and Graphic Arts Department's Curatorial File contains the same for Typ books. It is located in the Hofer Inner Office on B level in the stacks.

Additionally, there is a filing cabinet of Catalog Department files from 1942-1980 in Lamont.