Science Fiction Collections

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The Science Fiction Foundation Collection is a renowned collection of research resources, also known as the SF Hub, housed at the University of Liverpool's Special Collections and Archives.

1 The John Wyndham Archive
2 Nye Popular Culture Collections
3 Charles E. Masback Science Fiction Collection
4 Cambridge Public Library Fantasy and Science Fiction Collection
5 Williamson Science Fiction Library
6 The Merril Collection
7 The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database
8 The Ray and Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies
9 External Links

The John Wyndham Archive

The John Wyndham Archive is the only collection of John Wyndham's literary papers and manuscripts. Purchased by The University of Liverpool Library in 1998 with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the John Wyndham Archive also contains one of the very few sets of correspondence that the author did not destroy.

The holdings consist of

30,000 science fiction and fantasy novels, collections, and anthologies.
2,500 critical works, including biographies and bibliographies.
600 volumes of nonfiction connected to science fiction, such as space flight, robotics, and pseudo-science.
Large holdings of non–English material, featuring French, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Russian science fiction and some non–English fanzines.
Runs of over 500 critical journals specializing in the study of science fiction and related topics, including the Science Fiction Foundation's own journal: Foundation: The international review of science fiction.
A large collection of science fiction magazines (600 titles), some dating back to the 1920s and 1930s.
More than 1,000 fanzine titles from around the world, featuring interviews with authors, and critical pieces.
Extensive archival collections, consisting of the manuscripts and literary papers of a number of prominent science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers, plus the records of the Science Fiction Foundation and the Flat Earth Society.
Convention material from dozens of events held throughout the world in the last twenty years, including audiotapes of talks and panel discussions from well-known science fiction writers.

Nye Popular Culture Collections

Science fiction is a heavily used section in the Nye Popular Culture Collections. Combined monographic and periodical holdings total approximately 12,000 items, ranking this collection in the Top 20 of its kind among research collections. Over 70 periodical titles are represented, and the collection has current subscriptions to several major science fiction magazines.

In 1972, the Michigan State University Libraries became a depository for the Science Fiction Writers of America, which contributes review copies of recent publications to the collection. In 1997, the Libraries announced a new and ongoing collection of James Tiptree, Jr. Award winners and short-list titles.

An effort is underway to include political and religious works which may be utopian or apocalyptic, but which are not often identified as part of the science fiction genre. The science fiction collection has strong connections with the other parts of the Nye Collections. For example, the Performing Arts category includes significant published and unpublished Star Trek material, and the Comic Art Collection often shares authors, illustrators, and characters with science fiction.

Primary material in the science fiction category includes original stories written by participants in the annual Clarion Science Fiction Writing Workshop held each summer at Michigan State University, during which leading science fiction authors work with aspiring writers.

Library cataloging of the science fiction collection and of other popular fiction genres has been enhanced by an index to cover, dust jacket, and interior illustrators, and by particular attention to publishers' series. In these ways the collection is uniquely prepared for a study of the roles of artists and publishers in the history and definitions of popular fiction.

Charles E. Masback Science Fiction Collection

The Charles E. Masback Science Fiction Collection contains paperback copies of science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels and short story collections. There are more than 3,000 titles in the collection. All volumes are fully cataloged in the library's online catalog, and are available for loan.

The collection, a memorial to Charles E. Masback, CSULB graduate, was established by his father, Frederic J. Masback, Professor Emeritus of English, and his late wife, Leona. Dr. Masback and his family and friends continue to support the collection's maintenance and growth. Books are also added to the Masback Science Fiction Collection through gifts and other donations.

The Masback Science Fiction Collection is housed in the library's fourth-floor reading room at the University Library, California State University, Long Beach, California.

Cambridge Public Library Fantasy and Science Fiction Collection

The Cambridge Public Library Fantasy and Science Fiction Collection contains roughly 2,500 paperbacks and 6,000 hardcovers, making their collection one of the best fantasy and science fiction collections in the area. Books include novels, short story collections, anthologies, genre histories, and criticism. Some horror and supernatural materials are also included, primarily in instances where the author writes mostly in the fantasy or science fiction fields.

Williamson Science Fiction Library

The Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library was officially dedicated on March 30, 1982: "In honor of our world-renowned pioneer science fiction writer, teacher, student and benefactor." The collection actually began much earlier when, in 1967, Dr. Williamson made his first donation of materials. Since then, his donations have included manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, convention notes and publications, book jackets, and, of course, books written by him and most authors in the science fiction field. Thanks to his influence, the Williamson Science Fiction Library also contains the manuscripts and papers of Edmond Hamilton, Leigh Brackett, and others.

Williamson was instrumental in persuading the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) to designate the Williamson Library as a regional depository for its Circulating Book Plan. With the help of these and other donors, the Williamson Library houses one of the top science fiction collections in the world.

The library includes 17,000 volumes of science fiction works, both fiction and nonfiction. There are over 11,000 issues of science fiction pulps, dating back to the early 1900s, covering the entire history of science fiction with established magazines, fanzines, and short-run titles. Manuscripts include the working copies of Williamson's novels, describing the evolution of a novel from the initial germ, to character description, to finished work. There is a Star Trek script based on Jack Williamson's work "The Humanoids." Along with this script, the Williamson Library has an original copy of Gene Roddenberry's pilot script for the Star Trek series.

The Williamson Science Fiction Library is located in Portales, New Mexico.

The Merril Collection

The Merril Collection is a noncirculating research collection of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, and experimental writing, for researchers, educators, and the general public. The library tries to collect every title in the English language in the genres of SF and fantasy, as well as working on a substantial collection of critical material relating to the genre, and nonfiction materials on related topics, such as parapsychology, UFOs, SF and fantasy art work, television programs, and films.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database is an on-line, searchable compilation and extension of Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1878–1985, Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1985–1991, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1992–1995, including material located since the publication of the last printed volume.

This online index to over 60,000 historical and critical items about science fiction, fantasy, and horror is an inclusive tool, designed to cover all aspects of science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural, and weird fiction. History, criticism, commentary, fan writings, and some reviews are all included, although book reviews are left to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Index at this time.

Science fiction generates the largest number of entries, followed by fantasy and horror in that order. Approximately 90% of the entries are in English. Most of the citations to pre–1980 non–English language material were supplied by Dr. David Samuelson and supplemented by several European contributors, most notably Luk de Vos of the Netherlands. Coverage of non–English language material is representative only. The majority of this material is in French, German, or Italian, but several other languages are represented. Non–English language material is entered by author, title, and imprint. Subject headings are applied where possible. For a variety of reasons, including the lack of multilingual typewriters or word processors for many years, diacritical marks are often omitted.

The Ray and Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies

Bowling Green State University
Science Fiction, Fantasy and Related Collections

The Ray and Pat Browne Library holds approximately 25,000 volumes of hardbound and paperback books in the related genres of science fiction, fantasy, weird/horror, supernatural/occult, and utopian literature. Special strengths of the library include American and British mass-market magazines, fan and collector publications, parapsychology and the occult, and materials documenting the Star Trek phenomenon.

Especially significant are the Browne Library's holdings of pulp magazines, including extensive or complete runs of Amazing Stories, Astounding Science Fiction, Tales of Magic and Mystery, Thrilling Wonder Stories, and Weird Tales, among many others. A notable collection of graphic novels and comic books (more than 50,000 issues) includes many related series and titles. The library also houses nearly 4,500 fanzines and related publications, including rare issues of Flying Saucers, Twilight Zone, and Spacecraft Digest, among many other titles, such as Locus, Galileo, and Lunatique.

The Ray Bradbury Collection (literary manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs, as well as more than 1,500 published works, which is housed in the University Library's Center for Archival Collections, is a significant resource. Related manuscripts collections in the Popular Culture Library include the papers and early sketches of Joanna Russ, the Alexei and Cory Panshin papers, as well as manuscripts by Robert Bloch, Joseph Payne Brennan, Jeffrey A. Carver, R. A. Lafferty, Carl Jacobi, and Philip K. Dick. The Sheldon R. Jaffery Collection includes manuscripts and associational correspondence relating to Jaffery's published works on horror and science fiction, including his bibliographies of Arkham House and DAW Books, and near-complete collections of both imprints.