The George Kelley Paperback and Pulp Fiction Collection is one of many resources that make UB Libraries unique.
???"[Pulp fiction] refers to popular fiction produced in paperback format from the 1930s through the 1950s and '60s. It was published on cheap paper made from wood pulp and was priced very cheap," said Judy Adams-Volpe, director of communications for UB Libraries. "Thus in the '30s and '40s it was the main mode of entertainment before TV."
???In 1994, George Kelley, a UB alumnus, donated his personal lifelong collection of pulp fiction material to the library. This collection consists of over 25,000 volumes of mass media.
???"It all started when my mom threw out my comic book collection while I was away at summer camp," Kelley said on the project Web site.
???Kelley began his collection as a child, fascinated by the intense cover art that accompanies such material.
???"Covers were always very intense, colorful, dramatic, and luring," Adams-Volpe said.
???Kelley took great care from the beginning to preserve his collection, storing each individual book or magazine in its own Ziploc bag. The wood-pulp paper disintegrates very quickly. Had he not taken this extra precaution, the collection would likely not exist, Adams-Volpe said.
???For this reason, the UB Pulp Fiction Collection is one of the largest and best-preserved pulp fiction collections in the world, according to Adams-Volpe.
???While Kelley donated the bulk of the collection, it has been enhanced with donations from a wide range of decades from Thomas and Margarete Shaw, according to Kathleen Quinlivan, project librarian of communications at the UB libraries.
???Even though this collection is widely unknown to the student body, the project managers have recruited help from various classes at UB in organizing the collection. Students in the discovery seminar on pop culture and pulp fiction, taught by Adams-Volpe, assisted with the selection of some of the covers for the UBDigit display. Other classes have used the cover art as backdrops for projects and creating posters.
???Because of the fragile state of the collection and the care taken to preserve it, the collection is currently housed off campus. A wide variety of it has been organized onto the UB Libraries Web site for easier viewing, Adams-Volpe said.
???Viewers can see selections from a wide range of categories, including adventure stories, mysteries, erotic stories, fantasies, horror stories, and legal stories. Also viewable is a selection of Kelley's favorites from his collection.
???While much of the collection consists of stories written by authors known only to those with specific interest in the topic, there are also some widely recognizable names in the mix. Original covers from Stephen King, Ed Wood and Ray Bradbury are available, Adams-Volpe said.
???Also on the Web site is a request form, which can be used to request that specific material be brought on campus to be viewed in person, not online, for something of particular interest.
???This collection of pulp fiction gives the viewer insight to pop culture that, in an era before TV and Internet, dominated the media.
???"Pulp fiction, both the novels and the cover art, provides a great reflection of popular culture of the times," Adams-Volpe said.
???To view this collection or for more information, visit the UB Libraries Web site and search for the Kelley Collection in the special collections section.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
