Elaboración de Plan de Puntos de Inspección

“To live for knowledge, and knowledge alone, that was the highest aim which life could offer.”

Arthur Conan Doyle. “The Surgeon of Gaster Fell” Ch. 2 The creating of my desiderata list began with the impeccable work of the University of North Carolina graduate student Dorothy Blunt. In 1993, her Master’s paper explored the Sherlockian holdings of the several different collections in Wilson Library’s Rare Book Collection. Her research was focused completely on the various editions of the Canon, however, and did not embrace other aspects of the collections. During her research, she compiled an amazingly detailed desiderata list for the Canonical holdings of Cameron. Using this desiderata list as a starting point, I began my research into the collection’s development. My first task was to go through the shelf list to determine if the item on Blunt’s desiderata list was still missing from the collection. A surprising number of items on her list had actually been acquired since she compiled it.

Once I determined that the item was still needed by the library, I researched it in Ronald De Waal’s bibliography The Universal Sherlock Holmes. Using this as a basis, I was able to construct an in-depth bibliographic citation for each desired work which ends with a De Waal number. Every item on this list has a De Waal number, unless the item does not appear in TheUniversal Sherlock Holmes. If the item was not in De Waal, it is most likely that I acquired the bibliographic information from A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle by John Michael Gibson and Richard Lancelyn Green. If so, the citation

will end with a code that corresponds to items in the Gibson/Green bibliography. If the citation does not have any bibliographic number at the end of it, then I retrieved the bibliographic information from the on-line Union Catalog WorldCat.

Once I had thoroughly researched all the items in Blunt’s desiderata list, I began to scroll through the shelf list looking for any potential gaps within the collection. I had several criteria for locating these gaps. First of all, I looked for any series titles that appeared numerous times in the collection. Using De Waal’s bibliography, I researched the series to see if the Cameron Collection held all the volumes in it. Secondly, I looked for any authors who were well-represented in the collection. Once again, using De Waal, I determined if Cameron was missing any of their major works. Finally, I looked at serials held by the collection. Using Don Hobbs’ bibliography A Crowded Boxroom, I looked to see if there were any issues of the serial missing.

I also paid careful attention to the correspondence of Mary Cameron herself. I looked to see if there were any items that she mentioned in her letters which were not held by the Cameron collection. These items I included in the list, because I felt they would maintain the collecting spirit of Mary Cameron.

Once I had compiled this list, I proceeded to arrange it in shelf-list order and assign cataloguing numbers to it. Since the Cameron collection has a particularly complex cataloguing system, I realized that it would be helpful to assign cataloguing numbers for the benefit of future cataloguers.

One drawback of arranging the desiderata list was the difficulty in prioritizing the areas of development. Obviously, some items will have a higher priority than others. Naturally, many of the items should be acquired as their availability and rarity dictates.

For example, if a Beeton’s Christmas Annual came up for auction, the library should make that top priority, because it is very rare for such an item to come up for sale. However, in general, I believe the priorities for the items should be grouped by section. Certain sections will hold a higher priority than others. For example, early editions of the Canon will be higher priority than non-Sherlockian works by Conan Doyle. Because Cameron focuses on Sherlock Holmes, non-Holmesian works are peripheral and therefore less relevant. Similarly the section “Associated Topics” will have a lower priority than “Parodies and Pastiches.” Taking into account, the relative importance of the different sections, I created a priority list which appears below.

Priorities for Collection Development 1.) First and Other Editions (Section 2A)

2.) Periodicals Containing the Sherlockian Stories (Section 3) 3.) Paperbacks of Sherlockian Stories (Section 2E)

4.) Sherlock Holmes Novels Bound with Each Other or Other Stories (Section 2C) 5.) Sets of Sherlock Holmes Stories (Section 2D)

6.) Combinations of the Stories (Section 2H) 7.) Pastiches and Plays by Doyle (Section 2B) 8.) Foreign Language Editions (Section 2F) 9.) Shorthand Editions (Section 2G)

10.) Bibliographies (Section 1)

11.) Books and Pamphlets about the Writings and Associated Topics (Section 4A) 12.) Baker Street Irregulars and Other Sherlock Holmes Societies (Section 7) 13.) Journals (Section 18)

14.) Imitations, Parodies, Pastiches in Book Form (Section 5A)

15.) Non-Sherlockian Stories and Complete Works of Doyle (Section 12) 16.) Periodicals Containing Imitations, Parodies, Pastiches, Plays (Section 5B) 17.) Periodicals Containing Materials about the Writings (Section 4C)

18.) Sherlock Holmes Greeting Cards and Stationery (Section 15)

19.) Sherlock Holmes in Theatre, Motion Pictures, Radio and Television (Section 16) 20.) Pictorial and Map Materials Including Postcards (Section 8)

21.) Ephemera Related to Sherlockian Meetings and Events (Section 13) 22.) Books a Part of which Contain Material about the Writings (Section 4B) 23.) Associated Books and Pamphlets (Section 6)

It is important to note that several sections are not recommended for development, and therefore do not appear on the priority list. This is because there are several sections where I cannot predict future patterns of development. For example, the section

containing personal letters and manuscripts from Doyle is not listed on the priority list. Personally, I think it would be beneficial to develop this section, but I cannot predict what letters or manuscripts might come onto the market and whether the library would have the resources to purchase them.

Thus, it is important to emphasize that this desiderata list is meant merely as a guide. It lists the largest gaps in the collection and offers suggestions to fill those gaps. Obviously, the collection will continue to grow through donations and purchases. Indeed, one of the truly exciting things about this collection is its potential for growth and

THE DESIDERATA LIST FOR THE MARY SHORE