Dartmouth College Library
Collection Management & Development Program
Collection Development Policy
ARCHIVES: WEBSTER
- COLLECTION AREA
- GENERAL PURPOSE
- HISTORY
- DARTMOUTH COLLEGE PROGRAM
- GENERAL SUBJECT BOUNDARIES
- LANGUAGES
- GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
- TYPES OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
- FORMAT OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
- SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS
- OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE
- COLLECTING INTENSITY
- CREATION DATE
- REVISION DATE
- BIBLIOGRAPHER
Archives: Webster
Webster is an exhaustive collection which comprises all forms of media written by and relating to Daniel Webster -- Secretary of State, Senator, and Orator, an alumnus of Dartmouth College. The collection is recognized as one of the finest on the Webster period and is used by the Dartmouth community, as well as by researchers nationally and internationally and by exhibitors (meeting AAM guidelines) from other institutions.
Webster Manuscripts is an exhaustive collection of Webster's correspondence, speeches, notes, and other papers. Webster Library is an exhaustive collection of the books owned by Webster. Pamphlets of Webster's speeches are collected comprehensively.
Dartmouth has collected Webster manuscripts from the time of his death in 1852. Collecting will continue to be intensive.
Collection access has been improved and encouraged by two major grant projects. The first was a 1968-71 microfilm edition of the Webster Papers, funded in part by the National Historical Publications Commission. The second was the 1974-88 publication of the Webster Papers, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Historical Records and Publications Commission.
The Webster Collection supports course work in American and British history, political science, pre-legal studies, and speech. Iconography is borrowed by Hood Museum of Art for exhibitions; Webster quotations are sought by Development and Alumni offices, as well as other campus offices. The manuscripts are heavily used by researchers.
The subject boundaries relate exclusively to Daniel Webster and his immediate family. The holdings may fall into all classifications of Library of Congress; the bulk of the cataloged publications is in LC E and PS classifications.
English is the primary language.
The collection is not bound by geographic area. Most of the holdings are New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC.
Manuscripts and published materials are collected. These include: speeches, documents, and correspondence (letters to and from Webster); background material on speeches; biographical and other descriptive material; and iconography. Realia of known provenance are accepted as gifts.
The format is diverse: manuscripts, monographs, serials, pamphlets, maps, portraits, daguerreotypes, music, and philately, also artifacts and memorabilia.
The collection is part of Special Collections.
Webster Library contains books once owned by Daniel Webster. Webster Speeches are the printed speeches given by Webster. There is a four linear feet 'vertical file' of Webster clippings arranged topically. Circulation copies of many Webster books and pamphlets are in the open stacks. There is a microfilm edition of Webster Papers in Microtext. The Hood Museum of Art houses the larger pieces of Webster art work.
Other outstanding Webster collections are located at the New Hampshire Historical Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Library of Congress.
All books and manuscripts are actively sought.
a. Existing strength 5
b. Level of current collecting 5
c. Desirable level of collecting 5
April 1983, Kenneth Cramer
March 1998
Anne Ostendarp
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Last updated January 28, 1999 by: CMDC@Dartmouth.Edu (jdh)