June 26, 2014
Dewey center, SIU Press join Library Affairs
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Center for Dewey Studies and Southern Illinois University Press are becoming part of Library Affairs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The Center for Dewey Studies, founded in 1961, partnered with the library in May and will move from 807 S. Oakland St. to the Morris Library lower-level rotunda in July. The center collects, edits and publishes the works of American philosopher and educator John Dewey, who lived from 1859 to 1952. The massive 37-volume “Collected Works” project was completed in 1990.
Editing and compilation then began on Dewey’s extensive correspondence, including more than 24,000 items collected from more than 200 libraries and archives. Those letters have been compiled into an electronic edition that would be equivalent to about 63 print volumes. Both projects were completed courtesy of funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and private donors.
Through the years, the efforts have also included compiling “Works about Dewey,” a comprehensive bibliography of secondary works about Dewey. Work is now underway on creating an edition of Dewey’s class lectures.
Since 1993, the center has expanded its scope and international outreach by establishing Dewey research centers in China, Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil and France and has hosted visitors, including six Fulbright Scholars, from 30 countries.
SIU Press, located next to the McLafferty Annex, will become part of Library Affairs in July and remain at its current location. Established in 1967, SIU Press publishes books in a variety of scholarly fields including archaeology, rhetoric, composition, film, theater and criminology.
Some of the academic publications are of interest to the general public as well, including books focusing on elements of American history including the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, as well as publications highlighting Illinois, the tri-state region and in particular, Southern Illinois. SIU Press, in collaboration with the “Crab Orchard Review,” also publishes the “Crab Orchard Series in Poetry.”
SIU Press and the library have been engaged in and discussing collaborative projects for more than a year, according to Anne Cooper Moore, dean of Library Affairs.
“Increased visibility and engagement in campus publishing will be benefits of the new relationship for the Press. A greater range of electronic publishing options -- for example, enhanced e-books and sales connected through OpenSIUC -- will expand the impact of the publishing portfolio,” Moore said.
She said the partnership with the Center for Dewey Studies will likewise potentially result in joint projects and will benefit researchers.
Learn more about Morris Library and the many resources, amenities and services it offers, at www.lib.siu.edu.