Library Journal

ma58 Amherst Summer School Records, 1878-1906 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Anne Ostendarp. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Amherst, MA

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarang Gopalakrishnan. 2003-06-24 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 ma58 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Amherst Summer School Records, 1878-1906 Finding Aid Processed: 1993 August By: Anne Ostendarp, Project Archivist Finding Aid: 1993, rev. 2002 The processing of the Amherst Summer School Collection was supported by the McGoun Fund. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Amherst College Amherst Summer School Collection 1878-1906 1 half archives box (0.25 linear ft.) Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Started by Dr. Sauveur as the Normal School of Languages at Amherst College in 1875. Contains existing documentation of the Library School and incomplete documentation of other school programs. Includes bulletins, brochures, lecture notes, examinations and certificates; as well as Newton McKeon's notes on the Library School. English. Historical Note

Dr. Sauveur started the Normal School of Languages at Amherst College in 1875. In 1878, the School was first held at Amherst College. Its objective was "to familiarize instructors with the 'Natural Method' of teaching ancient and modern languages." By 1894, the Sauveur College of Languages (also known as Sauveur Summer School or Normal School of Languages) joined with the Amherst Summer School. The Summer School offered, in addition to language courses, courses in "library economy," geology, physical education, and other subjects. A 1901 brochure describes the Summer School of Library Economy (also known as Fletcher Library School) as a distinct program developed by William I. Fletcher. By 1906, the program was defunct.

Most of the documents in this small collection are from Fletcher's summer library program. The program was for "beginners in library work, or the librarians of small libraries who have not been brought in contact with modern improved methods, [providing] enough instruction in such methods to answer their immediate demands." W.I. Fletcher taught the five-week program in the Amherst College Library. Typically there were two-hour lectures each morning followed by two-hour "laboratory work" sessions in the afternoon.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Amherst Summer School Collection contains the existing documentation of the Library School; it provides incomplete documentation of the other Summer School programs and activities. The Collection includes four bulletins, 1878-1900; brochures, 1893-1905; a certificate; and lecture notes and examinations. Also in the Collection are Newton F. McKeon's (Librarian of the College, 1939-70) notes on the Library School. McKeon made notes from original documents and from other sources such as Library Journal.

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

There is no restriction on access to the Amherst Summer School Collection for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.

Requests for permission to publish material from the Collection should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in Amherst Summer School Collection [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library

Search Terms Amherst College. Summer School of Languages. Amherst College. Summer School of Library Economy. Amherst College--History--Sources. Language and languages--Study and teaching--Massachusetts--Amherst. Library schools--Massachusetts--Amherst. Lecture notes--Amherst College. Fletcher, William Isaac, 1844-1917. McKeon, Newton Felch, 1904-1990. Sauveur, Lambert, 1826-1907. Amherst College. Summer School of Languages. Amherst College. Summer School of Library Economy. Additional Information 1 1 Bulletins: Normal School for Teachers Sauveur Summer School of Languages 1878-1900 1 2 Brochures: Summer School of Library Economy 1893-1905 1 3 Certificate: Department of Library Economy, Edith Johnson 1902 1 4 Class of 1900 employment 1901 1 5 Cutter table (for the Amherst School of Library Practice) n.d. 1 6 Lecture notes and examinations 1904-1906 1 7 Tickets and program: Entertainments by the Library Class of 1900 1900 Aug 14 1 8 N.F. McKeon's notes re: (Fletcher) Library School n.d.