COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY STATEMENT

Subject: COOKERY COLLECTION in SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Fund Codes: SPCMO, GEFSP
Written by: Peter Berg
Date: April 4, 2002

I. PURPOSE OR SCOPE OF COLLECTION

A. Curricular/Research/Programmatic Needs

The Cookery Collection supports the information, instruction, and research needs of the MSU faculty, staff, students, as well as visitors. The collection serves numerous University departments, colleges, and programs whose students and faculty pursue interests in food, foodways, nutrition, hospitality, history, agriculture, and literacy.

B. History of the Collection

The collection holds over 7,000 cookbooks spanning seven centuries from throughout the world. The earliest printed cookbook is a 1541 Apicius. The strength of the collection is 18th and 19th century British cookery and American cookery thanks to two outstanding donations over 25 years ago from Mary Ross Reynolds and Beatrice Grant, both former Home Economic professors at MSU. In the past quarter century collecting had focused on acquiring cookbooks to bolster these strengths, but within the past several years
collecting interests have expanded thanks to the Beatrice Grant Cookery Endowment and a desire to highlight diverse and/or under represented cuisines from the United States and the world. Special attention will be given to African American cookery, Jewish cookery, African cookery, and regions in the Americas influenced and involved in the African slave trade. In addition, many community/charitable cookbooks representative of the vast ethnic influences on American cuisine have been acquired from throughout the
country with special emphasis on the Great Lakes region. Cookery ephemera from the late 19th century to the present, important scholarly serials, along with menus will also be collected.

II. FACTORS INFLUENCING COLLECTING POLICY

A. Anticipated Future Trends

Cookbooks reflect a growing interest in cuisine and food that is sweeping the entire world today. Thousands of cookbooks are being published every year and it would be impossible to acquire and make available all of them. Collecting boundaries must be set and be obeyed, yet flexible enough to include new developments as they may arise. Established collecting areas today in the Cookery Collection would have been almost unimaginable 25 years ago, and in some cases even five years ago. Traditional areas of strength in the collection remain vibrant thanks to donations and key acquisitions, but
new, diverse areas of cookbook collecting have recently been emphasized as they relate to areas of interest at MSU. This will continue, especially as areas of "undercollected" cookery is identified.

B. Relationship with Other Resources

Cookbooks and related material exist in the Main Library and the Gast Business Library. It is important that these collections exist primarily to support Hospitality students. Occasionally cookery books have been transferred to SPC from the Main if they are judged to be important, rare, or in fields of interest. In the winter of 2002, for example, 15 Africana cookbooks were transferred to Special Collections as a result of new collecting guidelines.

The region has a number of fine culinary/cookbook/gastronomy collections. Most notably the Clements Library, the Lilly Library, and the University of Iowa all have distinguished, named collections. Generally these collections collect pre 1945 cookbooks and appear to focus on traditional cookery in the United States and Europe. Currently no formal cooperative collecting policies exist with these collections. It is important, however, to keep informed about the other important regional cookery collections to reduce the possibility of frequent collection duplication. This has occurred between the Clements and MSU with positive results.

C. Relationships to resources treated in other MSU policy statements

Human ecology
Agriculture
Food science/nutrition
Business/School of Hospitality
Africana
Mexico, Latin, and South America

III. ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT FIELD

A. Chronology with Emphasis/Restrictions

Collection spans seven centuries with cookbooks from throughout the world representing practically every cuisine.

B. Languages

All languages, but primarily English.

C. Geography

Primarily United States, Caribbean, Latin and South America, and Africa.

D. Format of Resources

Up to this point primarily printed material, but in the future will also collect audio-visual materials (videos/photographs/DVDs dealing with food and drink and their social and cultural implications) if relevant.

E. Date of Publication of Resources Collected

Since 1541, but henceforth collecting emphasis will be primarily 1945-, with some exception depending on importance of individual cookbook to the collection.

IV. LEVELS OF COLLECTING INTENSITY

A. Active, individual collections

1.American cookery

Collecting will continue in American cookery fields from the 19th century to the present. Retrospective American cookbooks and cookery related material will be added primarily through donation with the exception of the following areas of collecting intensity:

African American cookery: collect through donation and/or acquisition all available African American cookbooks past and present. This will include purchases from antiquarian vendors, Internet vendors, and bookstores. High intensity.

Jewish and Kosher cookery: collect through donation and/or acquisition all available Jewish and Kosher cookbooks. Emphasis on English language cookbooks. High intensity.

Community/charity cookbooks: collect through donation/acquisition community cookbooks with emphasis on Great Lakes regional cookbooks. Continue Michigan Cookbook Project to collect all Michigan related community cookbooks. High intensity.

Award winning/celebrity chefs cookbooks: collect through donation/acquisition with emphasis on current publications. Medium intensity.

American ethnic cookbooks: collect through donation/acquisition important American ethnic cookbooks past and current. Medium intensity.

Unusual/celebrity cookbooks: collect through donation/acquisition unusual cookbooks (e.g. White Trash Cookbook) and celebrity cookbooks (e.g. Pee Wee Herman) that represent the merging of food and American popular culture. Medium intensity.

2. African cookbooks: collect through donation/acquisition cookbooks and cookery related material primarily from African regions linked to the diasporas of the Americas (countries in West and Central Africa involved in the Atlantic slave trade) as well as areas such as the Horn, Southern Africa, etc. and other African diasporas. High intensity

3. Caribbean cookbooks: collect through donation and acquisition cookbooks and cookery related material influenced by African diaspora. High intensity

4. Latin and South American cookbooks: collect through donation/acquisition cookbooks and cookery related material from countries influenced by African diaspora (Brazil, Venezuela, etc.)  High intensity.

5. English and international cookbooks: collect through donation cookbooks from throughout the world and acquire important international cookbooks. Collecting of 18th and 19th century English cookbooks will be minimal unless donated. Low intensity.

6. Menus: collect through donation restaurant menus. Low intensity.

7. Cookery ephmera: collect through donation cooking ephemera. Low intensity.

8. Serials: collect scholarly serials (e.g. Petits Propos Culinaires, Food History, Gastronomica) devoted to food, food history, and food culture. High intensity.

V. Collection Management Issues

Specific policies, if any, on replacement, deselection, out of print acquisitions, preservation, etc.

Although there are exceptions, most cookbooks were and continued to be inexpensively produced, intended to be widely dispersed, easily acquired, and used for generations in the kitchens. This raises serious preservation issues, including highly acidic paper, poor bindings, and food stains. Attention for protection and preservation must be given to many cookbooks in the collection on a case by case basis. Action includes the use of mylar covers, acid free envelopes, boxes, and complete, expert conservation if the item is deemed important.

Some duplicates are in the collection, but after review to keep the better copy, most should be withdrawn and made available for sale or donation on a continuing basis.