Managing Literary Manuscripts: Identification, Arrangement, and Description

Archival control practices for literary collections range from calendaring individual letters chronologically to creating hierarchical series organized by literary genre.

This workshop covers the identification of literary manuscripts­-from notebook ideas, drafts, galleys and page proofs to blue lines­-and examines options for how these collections should be arranged and described. Hands-on exercises are designed to identify various states of literary manuscripts and to provide ample time for discussion of arrangement options in developing a processing plan.

The day's work fosters an appreciation of literary research methods and an understanding of literary manuscripts as evidence of the creative process.