Granary Books records, 1985-2016

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1685
Bib ID:
10788646 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Granary Books (Firm)
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
142.50 linear feet (106 boxes and 7 scroll boxes); 1 Terabytes (1 tb digital)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

The following boxes are located off-site. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Series VII: Archives Business, and Series VIII: Business records are restricted until 2039. Digital assets are not yet available for use, please consult the repository.

Description

Summary

Business and editorial records of Granary Books. The collection includes the production files for these limited edition and trade titles, as well as Steve Clay's extensive correspondence with writers and printers, and other artist book press proprietors. Electronic records include almost two decades of email, editorial and production files, and the "Archaic Smile Lecture Series".

  • Series I: Editorial Files for Books Published by Granary

    This series includes the production files for all 157 limited-edition books, trade books and broadsides, published by Granary Books and its predecessor, Origin Books. A typical publication file will include correspondence; business records which include business items related to each book such as printers' estimates, invoices, receipts, purchasers of the book, job transaction printouts, budgets, shipping forms, and mailing lists; press releases and prospectuses; manuscripts; proofs, which is used broadly to refer to all aspects of a books' creation from pre-production and design to printing; photographs; reviews and publicity; writer and artist information; and digital items. The majority of the series is comprised of paper records, though the series also includes records on digital media. The numbers before the titles reflect the number assigned by Granary Books as each was published.

  • Series II: Email, 1995-2009

    The email series includes a database of over 87,300 email that were collected and maintained by the staff of Granary Books. This series has not been processed and is not currently available for use.

  • Series III: Artists' Files

    Granary Books collected correspondence, catalogs, ephemera and other material from over 1,240 artists, writers, printers and publishers that it has both worked with closely and encountered over the years.

  • Series IV: Granary Books Activities

    The Granary Books Activities subseries documents the many activities, other than publishing books, undertaken by Granary Books including publicity, promotional events and public programming, and administrative files. This series also includes a subseries related to the activities of Granary's predecessor, Origin Books, and a subseries of catalogs.

  • Series V: Photographs and Slides

  • Series VI: Manuscripts and Proposals Not Undertaken by Granary

  • Series VII: Archive Business

    This series is restricted until 2039

  • Series VIII: Business Records

    This series is restricted until 2039, though some exceptions may be made with the approval of Steve Clay.This series includes records relating to the general running of the press; financial information related to book production is generally included with production files for that title.

  • Series IX: Archived Web Site, 2016

Arrangement

Material is arranged into nine series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

The following boxes are located off-site. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Series VII: Archives Business, and Series VIII: Business records are restricted until 2039. Digital assets are not yet available for use, please consult the repository.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Granary Books Records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

2013.2014.M074: Source of acquisition--Granary Books. Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--10/10/2013.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers processed Michael Korte 2013.

Revision Description

2014-06-10 File created.

2018-04-03 XML document instance updated by Catherine C. Ricciardi. Addition of Series IX.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical / Historical

The mission of Granary Books is "to produce, promote, document, and theorize new works exploring the intersection of word, image, and page." For the last almost thirty years, Granary Books has been publishing limited edition books by renowned artists, graphic designers, printers, and poets, beginning with Nods, a collaboration with John Cage, Barbara Fahrner, and Philip Gallo, and including more recently titles by Charles Bernstein, Cecilia Vicuna, Jen Bervin, Johanna Drucker, Emily McVarish, Anne Waldman, and Jerome Rothenberg. Additionally the press has published trade editions of exhibit catalogs, out of print and first edition poetry, artist books, and books about books.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Artists' books (books) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Name
Clay, Steven, 1951- CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Granary Books (Firm) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
American poetry -- 20th century CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Publishers and publishing CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID