Library Spotlight:
Unique Collection Preserved in Danvers
Library's Alternative Press Collection Acquired by the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut
By Donna Maturi, Head of Reference and Information Services, Peabody Institute Library, Danvers

The Peabody Institute Library, Danvers is pleased to announce that its collection of alternative press materials have been accepted by the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, Storrs for preservation and permanent storage - http://www.lib.uconn.edu/online/research/speclib/ASC/.

The collection consists of over 50 unique national and international newspapers, serials & pamphlets that document activist themes and organizations, spanning from 1911 until the early 1990s. The library began collecting the titles in the mid 1960s, part of an effort to provide a "range of alternative ideas and viewpoints for Danvers residents" recalled retired Assistant Director of the Library, Nicholas McAuliffe. Titles include the Berkley Barb, Dissent, Second Wave: A Magazine of Ongoing Feminism and Working Papers for a New Society among many others.

The Alternative Press Collection at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut is one of the oldest and largest collections of alternative press materials in the United States. The collection attracts researchers internationally and is among the most frequently used materials in the Archives & Special Collections named for the former US Senator at the University of Connecticut.

Valerie Love, Curator for Human Rights and Alternative Press Collections at the Dodd Center noted: "The materials donated from the Peabody Institute Library to the Dodd Research Center are a wonderful addition to our collections. The Alternative Press Collection is frequently used by students and scholars studying the counter-culture movements of the 1960s and 70s, as well as by researchers and activists looking to gain a historical understanding of contemporary social movements."

The Peabody Institute Library is thrilled that these unique materials, many of which have become fragile, will be preserved and made available to interested researchers and students. The Library building lacks the environmentally sound, climate controlled storage space necessary to preserve and maintain the collection in order to make it accessible to the public. The Dodd Research Center is a wonderful new home for this noteworthy collection.