Dartmouth College Library
Collection Management & Development Program
Collection Development Policy
- COLLECTION AREA
- GENERAL PURPOSE
- DARTMOUTH COLLEGE PROGRAM
- GENERAL SUBJECT BOUNDARIES
- LANGUAGES
- GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
- TYPES OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
- FORMAT OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
- DETAILED SUBJECT AREAS
- OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE
- CREATION DATE
- REVISION DATE
- LC CLASS
- BIBLIOGRAPHER
Manuscripts
The Manuscript Collection exists to support, supplement and complement programs of instruction and research on all levels at Dartmouth. Materials in the collection range in age and size from fragments of ancient papyri to large bodies of modern political papers. The majority of materials are in English or Western European languages and date from the sixteenth century to the present. At the same time, representative samples of manuscripts from all periods and languages are acquired for pedagogical purposes. With the exception of archival records, the Manuscript Collection is the sole repository for manuscripts in the Dartmouth College Library system.
The collection supports the teaching and research activities of both students and faculty on all levels. Materials are available for students preparing assignments, papers and theses as well as for the teaching and research needs of the faculty. Use of the collection is broadly based; there is no single discipline that is supported by the materials. Materials are used by the faculties and students in the arts and sciences.
The collection is composed of several broad collecting areas. These include art history, presses and fine printing, literature, social and political history, business and economic history, and computer history. Some emphasis is placed upon the history of New Hampshire with special attention paid to the White Mountains and to the "Cornish Colony." Of particular interest are the papers of alumni who have made significant contributions to American society.
English is the primary language. However, all Western European languages (as well as Latin, Greek and Arabic) are well represented. Examples of manuscripts in all languages are acquired for teaching purposes.
North America and Western Europe are the areas of primary collecting scope. Examples of manuscripts in all geographical areas are collected for teaching purposes.
The majority of materials collected date from the sixteenth century to the present. There is, at the same time, an excellent collection of Medieval Latin and Arabic manuscripts. No materials are excluded from the collection because of age.
Manuscripts may be defined for our purposes as any original, written materials that are created as unique items as opposed to reproduced items. This would include holographs, typescripts, computer tapes and the like. Original manuscripts only are collected. Facsimiles are not collected although these may be added to the reference collection in Special Collections. Photocopies are no longer added to the collection. Microform copies of this Library's manuscripts and those of other institutions are to be found in the Jones Microtext Center.
Each collecting area is treated in a separate statement. For details, please refer to the statements on the Stefansson Collection, British and American Literature, New Hampshire, Alumni, and Presses and Fine Printing.
Within New Hampshire, there are several repositories maintaining collections that, in part, complement our holdings. These include the New Hampshire Historical Society, New Hampshire State Archives, and the University of New Hampshire. This overlap is particularly evident in the political and social history of New Hampshire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While there are no formal cooperative agreements with these repositories, there are informal agreements on collecting activities with the New Hampshire Historical Society, the State Library, the State Archives, and the University of New Hampshire.
December 1982 (Philip N. Cronenwett)
March 1991 (Philip N. Cronenwett)
Philip N. Cronenwett
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Last updated September 27, 1996 by: CMDC@Dartmouth.Edu (mjs)