Gannett-Tripp Library Special Collections – Mark Twain Archive (Special Library)
When selecting a special library to visit, I decided on the Mark Twain Archive because Elmira College is my Alma Mater. That being said, I was unaware that the Mark Twain Archive was housed on campus in the Gannett Tripp Library where I spent many hours during my undergraduate studies. Upon learning this, I questioned several of my classmates, all of whom were equally surprised as I was. On a college campus that prides itself on tradition and boasts of its connection to Mark Twain, I was quite bewildered that there was a piece of Twain history on campus that I was not aware of and wished to learn more.
History
Mark Twain wrote many of his most beloved works, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in Elmira, NY while spending summers at Quarry Farm with his family. Today, the Octagonal Study where Twain wrote is located on Elmira College campus. Twain’s wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens is an Elmira, NY native and a college alumna, member of the Class of 1864. Elmira College is also “guardian of Quarry Farm,” where the Clemens family spent more than 20 summers. Quarry Farm was recently named one of New York State’s literary landmarks by United for Libraries and the Empire State Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. With such a rich history, Elmira, NY is home to the Center for Mark Twain Studies, which encompasses the Mark Twain Study, Quarry Farm and the Mark Twain Archives (Elmira College, 2022; Center for Mark Twain Studies, 2022).
Digital Access
https://libguides.elmira.edu/home/mark-twain-archive
The homepage features links to services, policies and forms as well as a contact form if you wish to contact the Director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies. There is also a link should you wish to make a donation to the Archive. Beyond that, the website features many photographs of artifacts and pieces in the collection and contains a lot of information regarding the archive. One unique feature is the “finding aids” for the collection that essentially acts as a catalog for the collection.
The Space and Physical Access
The Mark Twain Archive is located on the second floor of the Gannett Tripp Library (GTL) on Elmira College Campus. Upon entering the GTL, patrons are greeted by a statue of Mark Twain casually sitting on a bench, legs crossed, with his arm across the back. Many undergraduate students, myself included, have posed for a picture with Mr. Twain. It’s a welcoming tribute to the author as well as a nod to his contributions to the history of the college’s hometown.
Access to the Mark Twain Archive is by appointment only. It is a small, cozy room reminiscent of a cigar lounge within the larger campus library. Permission to examine the archive’s holdings must be obtained from a member of the professional staff. Archival material does not circulate; it can only be viewed within the reading room. There are several other guidelines in place with the interest of preserving and maintaining the collection. This leads me to believe that the Mark Twain Archives would be distinguished as “closed sector.” That is, a library that “retains their information as proprietary with restricted access” (T. Murray 2015a, as cited in Rubin & Rubin, 2020, p. 198). These libraries serve only their special clients and market themselves as “knowledge services” or “content management services” (Rubin & Rubin, 2020, p. 198).
Services, Access and Collections
It is unclear what services library staff offer to researchers and scholars who visit the Mark Twain Archives. The Collection Development Policy states that “the Mark Twain Archive is dedicated to supporting scholarship and pedagogy related to Mark Twain.” It further states that it “makes available its records to advance scholarship in the field of Mark Twain studies” (Mark Twain Archive, 2022). it is evident that they do in fact provide access upon request, however, support beyond that is unclear.
The Mark Twain Archive serves as a repository of primary and secondary source materials related to Mark Twain and Mark Twain Scholarship with particular focus on Mark Twain’s association with Elmira and his Elmira circle of family and friends. The collection provides microfilm access to the correspondence, manuscripts, diaries and clippings of several Twain collecting repositories, including the Mark Twain Papers, Mark Twain House & Museum, Huntington Library, University of Virginia and Vasser College. The modest collection of primary-source materials are comprised of letters, photographs, chapters and short story manuscripts and Langdon family related materials including artifacts from Quarry Farm and the Langdon mansion (Mark Twain Archive, 2022).
As the physical presence of special libraries declines, the role of the special librarian has evolved out of necessity to be “stewards of content” in a digital age. Although the physical collection is still used, much of the information has been digitized and is owned and controlled by third parties. (Rubin & Rubin, 2020, p. 199). In the case of The Mark Twain Archives, the digital collection that is managed through the New York Heritage digital collections. The collection features 260 artifacts ranging from photographs, books, marginal notes and even Charles Langdon’s passport. Each item is available to be viewed digitally and is accompanied by an item description that includes dates, format, holding institution and contact information.
People
This library serves a very niche population. The Reading Room Policies for the Mark Twain Archive states that “The Mark Twain Archive exists to collect, preserve and make available to researchers primary and secondary materials related to Mark Twain and his work” (Mark Twain Archive, 2022). As the Home to the Center for Mark Twain Studies, scholars from around the world are attracted to the Archive as a way to further their scholarship and pedagogy related to Mark Twain.
Contrastly, the Collection Development Policy touts that together with the GTL, the Archive aims to “provide research support and instructional services to the campus community, the Twain scholarly community and the general public” (Mark Twain Archive, 2022). I am unaware of any undergraduate or graduate student or member of the Elmira community that has utilized the Archive. Rubin & Rubin (2020) argue that Archives users usually have a specific concern that needs to be addressed, and they consult particular records or documents to address that issue. If browsing occurs at all, it usually occurs within a specific collection” (Rubin & Rubin, 2020, p. 32). It can be reasonably deduced then that the undergraduate population is not the target audience for the Mark Twain Archives and perhaps that is why the large majority of the college community is unaware of its existence.
Conclusion
I was quite interested in learning more about the Mark Twain Archives that are housed on Elmira College’s campus. As an alumna, I was unaware that it existed right in the Gannett-Tripp Library. But I have to wonder if that is because I was in the “wrong” major. Perhaps classmates of mine who majored in English or Literature were aware of it and got to benefit from the unique collection. As Archives tend to serve a select population this would make the most sense and now I have some classmates to contact to see if my theory is correct.
References
Center for Mark Twain Studies. (2022). Mark Twain in Elmira. https://marktwainstudies.com/about/mark-twain-in-elmira/
Elmira College. (2022). Fast Facts. https://www.elmira.edu/about/Fast_Facts.html
Mark Twain Archive. (2022). Collection Development Policy. Elmira College. https://libguides.elmira.edu/ld.php?content_id=38884155
Mark Twain Archive. (2022). Mark Twain Archives Home Page. Elmira College. https://libguides.elmira.edu/home/mark-twain-home
Mark Twain Archive. (2022). Reading Room Policies. Elmira College. https://libguides.elmira.edu/ld.php?content_id=38885754
Mark Twain Bench. [Photograph]. Elmira College. https://www.elmira.edu/about/Slideshow.html
Mark Twain Reading Room. [Photograph]. Elmira College. https://libguides.elmira.edu/home/mark-twain-location
Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn memories! The picture of the room you provided does take me back in time and I agree that it resembles a cigar room! What an honor to Mark Twain to have not only the room but all the resources available about him, his wife, farm, and family. It is crazy that you didn’t know this particular library existed and these visits have really opened my eyes on the different types of libraries and jobs available.
Thanks for sharing- When I think of Mark Twain, St. Louis always comes to mind….not New York. I imagine many of our undergraduate libraries have special collections- we were all too interested in other things…and probably, as you mention, were not at the level of research to need such a specialized library. I am again struck at the different vibes that special libraries give off- some feel welcoming while others feel a lot more “stingy” about sharing.
What. A. Cool. Library. This is now on my Library Bucket List. I love Mark Twain. I want a picture on that bench and the reading room is breathtaking. It is certainly a niche library. It made me wonder if there are other libraries like this for other great American Authors. I went to the Steinbeck Museum in Salinas many, many years ago but I don’t remember a library! Thanks so much for sharing this. I had to read it twice. Once because I was so excited and nothing stuck. And once again to actually absorb it!
How cool that your alma mater hosts Mark Twain’s Archives! I love the look and feel of the reading room. It does seem like such a niche population and I wonder if your assumptions on student populations that did know about the library are correct.
It is very cool that your alma mater had such a connection to Mark Twain! Did you know about that before you started there? You described the library perfectly as looking like a cigar room. I think it’s great that the collection has a search function online so any student can look at materials. However, looking at special libraries within academia, it is interesting that they all seem to be “closed” except to certain populations. I understand their purpose and that allowing people just to come in to browse would be disruptive and even damaging to their archival work, but it is sad that someone who is just a huge Mark Twain fan most likely would not be able to access the collections unless they were doing a project on him!