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Browne Popular Culture Library

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Special Collections in the BPCL

This list will give you an idea of what kinds of collections are housed in the Browne Popular Culture Library and how to find them.

Advertising trade cards: These have categories, but no finding aid - see BPCL personnel for assistance
Alternative press: Searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog. There is also a research guide that gives additional information and links to specific titles in the Alternative and Underground Press Collection.
Beauty Pageant Collection: This is the finding aid for this collection of photos of Miss America contestants and programs and scrapbooks of articles from the pageants.
Big Little Books: These are available by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog. You can also browse a list by call number.
Bookmarks (Romance): These are not processed currently. Please ask BPCL personnel for assistance.
Calendars: This finding aid describes the calendar collection and gives a list of subjects available.
Comic Books: These are available by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog. A list is available for up to 10,000 records via subject heading; See also: general comics, magazine comics, underground comics; See also: Bravard Comics, Bravard magazine comics, Bravard underground comics
Conner Automotive Vertical File: This collection is arranged by make and model. Ask BPCL personnel for assistance.
Fanzines
Games Collection: This is background on the games collection. Inventory of the collection is not yet available.
Genre periodicals: These are periodicals focused on a particular subject or genre
Greeting cards
Little Blue Books: The Little Blue Books were published by the Halderman-Julius Publishing Company of Giraud Kansas from 1919-1978. The small staple bound books were designed to fit into a working man's pocket. Emanuel Haldeman-Julius and his wife Marcet published them to foster ideals of American socialism and to provide basic education to the working classes. The books included classics of Western literature as well as books that dealt with current social and political issues. They were enormously popular until the 1950s when the FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, put Halderman-Julius on its' enemies list.; Housed in numerical order. Here is a list of the BPCL's holdings of little blue books.
Little Leather Library volumes
Mail-order catalogs: There is a company and subject list available. See BPCL personnel for assistance.
Manuscripts: The BPCL has a number of manuscript collections. Most have finding aids available, though most of these are currently in print only in the BPCL reference area. Some, however, are in electronic form.
Matchbook covers: These are arranged by subject.
Miscellaneous posters: The BPCL has a large number of posters. See BPCL personnel for assistance.
Motion picture scripts: These are browsable by the subject motion picture plays, by the local call number moviescripts, and searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog. There are a number of these as yet uncataloged. See BPCL personnel for assistance if you cannot find the desired script in our library catalog.
Motion picture posters: See BPCL personnel for assistance.
Motion picture lobby cards: See BPCL personnel for assistance.
Motion picture press kits: These are in the process of being cataloged into the BGSU Libraries Catalog. Browse by local call number or search by title of film. See BPCL personnel for assistance for press kits not yet cataloged.
Nickel weeklies: These are searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog
Personal Growth Leaflets: These appeared in the early 20th century as commencement messages for young people.
Pin-back buttons: Many of these are displayed at the entrance to the BPCL. The rest of collection are arranged by subject. Take a look at the finding aid to read more about these buttons.
Postcards: Arranged by country, state, and city, or by subject. There is a finding aid available in the BPCL reference area.
Prints: See BPCL personnel for assistance.
Pulp magazines: These are searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog.
Radio scripts: These are searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog. They are also browsable by local call number radioscripts, by the subject heading radio scripts. There is also a finding aid available with the titles in the Du Pont series "The Cavalcade of America."
Realia: These are arranged by subject or format. There is an item list available with the finding aid in the BPCL reference area. These typically are toys or memorabilia.
Somerville Gates Collection
Spider-Man Collection
Star Trek: This is the finding aid for this collection. See also the collection announcement from 1997, when the collection was donated.
Story papers: See BPCL personnel for assistance.
Studio One Collection: Collection of television scripts with some videos of the programs. Searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog or browsable by "Studio One". There is also a collection announcement that further details the collection.
Television scripts: These are searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog. Within each series title, they are arranged by episode title. You can also browse this collection by the subject heading television scripts and the local call number tvscripts.
Titanic collection: Donated by Andrew Anthos, this collection has a finding aid available in the BPCL reference area.
Trading cards: This collection is arranged by sport and non-sport categories. There is a finding aid available in the BPCL reference area.
Vertical file: There is a listing available of subjects covered as well as a finding aid in the BPCL reference area.
Vintage paperbacks: These are searchable by title in the BGSU Libraries Catalog. There is also a searchable database of cover art available.
World War I posters: These are arranged by issuing agency.
World War II posters: See BPCL personnel for assistance.
Yearbook Collection: The Yearbook Collection is a selective set of 85 yearbooks from colleges around the U.S. Years range from 1891 to 1987.