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A Note on the Arrangement of the Collection J. Neilson Barry collection J. Neilson Barry donated his large collection of books, maps, periodicals, and manuscripts to Boise Junior College in 1957. Eugene B. Chaffee, president of the college from 1936 to 1967, became acquainted with J. Neilson Barry in the 1930s. A historian by training, Dr. Chaffee shared Barry’s interest and enthusiasm for the history of the Pacific Northwest. They corresponded for a number of years. Dr. Chaffee offered to purchase the Barry collection, allowing Mr. Barry to retain custody until his death. J. Neilson Barry—old, alone, and in poor health—made a gift of the collection to Boise Junior College in April of 1957. He had movers come into his hotel room and pack his files and personal library. For many years he had intended to give the collection to the Oregon Historical Society but differences with the Society’s board of directors led him to place the collection in Boise. Annie Laurie Bird, a retired history teacher from Nampa, Idaho (who, like Chaffee, had corresponded with Barry on topics of mutual interest), worked under contract in 1958 to arrange the collection and prepare an inventory. The books, many of which Barry had annotated, were removed and cataloged separately for library use. Historical quarterlies were incorporated into the library’s periodical collection. Published maps were placed in the map collection. Only the research files and personal papers were left intact. Unfortunately, dislocations caused by the moving of the collection to Boise and the initial processing destroyed much of the original order of the collection. For quite a number of years the collection was housed in unlocked file cabinets in the Library’s reference department. There was no provision for adequate supervision of the collection or any security. There are indications that some files or parts of files inventoried by Miss Bird are missing. The collection was finally transferred to the newly-created Special Collections Department in 1974. In 1977 the collection was reprocessed. It appears that at that time, or possibly before, Barry’s letters (more than 5,000 of them, both incoming and outgoing) were removed from their respective research files and arranged in one long chronological order. The removal of the letters from their research files—often accomplished by cutting them apart from other papers to which Barry had attached them—not only further disrupted the collection’s original order, but proved, over the years, to be a hindrance to topically-based research. Barry often researched more than one topic at the same time, and might write and receive a flurry of letters on a given topic for a period of weeks, then let the subject lie for months, or even years, before picking it up again. Letters that he had grouped together in topically-based research files were thus scattered when all his letters were mixed together and arranged in one chronological sequence. Few scholars had the time to wade through his hundreds of letters, one by one, searching for letters relevant to their research. So in 1998, it was decided to restore as closely as possible Barry’s original arrangement by reorganizing the letters according to his original subject scheme. Fortunately, at the tops of many letters, Barry had penciled in the name of the research file to which they belonged. Dylan McDonald, a student intern, worked on this project during the school year 1998-1999; further refinement was done by archivist Alan Virta in 2005. The Special Collections Department also prepared a name index and a chronological list of Barry’s correspondence, so researchers may approach his letters by correspondent, or chronologically, if so desired. The name index and calendar of correspondence are kept in the Special Collections Department. J. Neilson Barry’s letters are a rich source of historical detail. Restored to their topical arrangement, they, along with accompanying notes, bibliographies, clippings, and the like, are a valuable source for the study of Pacific Northwest history. Return to Special Collections homepage For questions or comment about this page, contact the Special Collections Department
This page last changed: 24 August 2006 |
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