| New Curator - Dr. Willis E. McNelly has been appointed the
Curator of the Pollak Library’s Science Fiction Collection. The University Librarian
announced the appointment at a November 12 program sponsored by the Patrons of the Library
at which Dr. McNelly spoke on “Science Fiction in the Wake of Joyce.” The
occasion commemorated his recent donation to the Pollak Library of books by and about
James Joyce, W. B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Robertson Davies, Brian Aldiss, and Frank Herbert-in
total more than 50 linear feet of materials that will be of great benefit to current and
future students and scholars working in these areas. Dr. McNelly has previously donated or
otherwise secured for the CSUF Library considerable collections of print and manuscript
science fiction materials. He is largely responsible for putting CSUF on the science
fiction “map.” He was thus the logical person to author the chapter on the
science fiction collection in Very
Special Collections, a 1992 publication of the Patrons and one that I
recommend to anyone interested in learning about the wealth of research materials housed
in the Library’s Special Collections unit. Dr. McNelly’s long association with the campus as a
distinguished English professor and his interest in science fiction as both a literary
genre and academic discipline have prepared him well for this honor. As Curator he is now
positioned to promote the use of the Library’s science fiction resources both on
campus and among interested outside communities of scholars and aficionados of the genre.
Dr. McNelly is the second person to be
appointed to an honorary curatorship in the Library. Dr. Albert Vogeler was named Curator
of the Roy V. Boswell Collection for the History of Cartography in 1994. In creating these
positions the Library and the University not only recognize long and close relationships
of individuals with the Library, but also hope to promote utilization of the resources
housed in Special Collections. In addition to perusing the above-mentioned Very
Special Collections, I encourage those interested in learning more about this
special unit of the Library to contact its coordinator, Sharon Perry, either in person in
University Archives and Special Collections (PL-352) or at 278-3444.
Richard Pollard
University Librarian |
