Cluing In: The Sherlock Holmes Collections

Greetings readers! Let’s jump into the new year with a new archive of the month.

As a literature enthusiast, I find niche literary collections a real gem. One of the most iconic detectives, Sherlock Holmes, has a large following in the 21st century, even though it has been over 100 years since the first story was released. This character and his companions first appeared in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel A Study in Scarlet, published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual of 1887. The Holmes novels have been translated into other languages and adapted for other media, and the main characters are widely known on both stage and screen. Additionally, a genre of parodies and pastiches has developed around the Sherlock Holmes character. From all of this, the Holmes stories have gained a following among niche societies, such as the Baker Street Irregulars, that gather to study Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Victorian world. So, is collecting the stories the only way Sherlockians can learn about the legacy of Sherlock Holmes? The University of Minnesota begs to differ!

 

The University of Minnesota is home to the Sherlock Holmes Collection, the world’s largest collection of materials related to Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle. The collection contains over 60,000 items. This includes books, journals, and a wide variety of other forms (such as artworks and buttons) through which the transformation of Sherlock Holmes’s character from the printed page to a cultural icon can be traced. The collection is housed in the Elmer L. Andersen Library’s secure underground storage area with other Archives and Special Collections materials. Various items are available online, so you can view some of the collection materials from the comfort of your own home. 

 

Pro tip: If you plan to visit the library in person, make sure to find and request the materials in advance so they are ready for your visit! 

To sustain funding for this collection, the University of Minnesota has the Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collection, which also publishes a quarterly newsletter detailing some of the activities happening with the collections. You can view the archived newsletters here.

References:

Carmody-McIntosh, K. (2024, May 23). Sherlock Holmes at 50 – UMN libraries news & events. UMN Libraries News & Events. https://libnews.umn.edu/2024/05/sherlock-holmes-at-50/ 

The Baker Street Irregulars. (2026, January 1). Winter 2025 BSJ. The Baker Street Irregulars. https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2026/01/01/winter-2025-bsj/ 

University of Minnesota. (n.d.). Sherlock Holmes Collections. University Libraries. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.lib.umn.edu/collections/special/holmes

Wilson, P. K. (n.d.). Sherlock Holmes. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sherlock-Holmes

Archive Experience: Gianna Brassil at Princeton’s Firestone Library

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year!

For the first post of the year, we have a contribution post from our previous Blog Editor, Gianna Brassil.

 

Gianna is a second year MLIS student at San Jose State University. They are currently the 2025-2026 Rooted and Relational Archives Fellow at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. During their MLIS program, they’ve had the opportunity to garner archival experience at a variety of institutions, including Princeton University Library, San Francisco Public Library, and The Freedom Archives. She would like to share her experience as the 2025 Special Collections Summer Fellow at the Firestone Library, part of Princeton University Library.

Gianna’s Experience: 

This past summer, I was the 2025 Special Collections Summer Fellow at Firestone Library. It was a summer full of learning, professional growth, and mentorship. I am very grateful for all of the people at Princeton University Library who made this such an impactful experience for me. 

Below are some of the projects that I had the opportunity to work on this summer.

Archival Processing and Description:

I processed several backlogged single-item acquisitions, including

• Ship Surgeon Contract for L’Achilles Voyage Trafficking Enslaved African People, 1792 October 1
• Ralph Brush Cleghorn Letter to British Abolitionist Zachary Macaulay, 1883 June 29, 1883 August 24
• Margaret Atwood Correspondence, 1981-1993
• James McLaughlin Correspondence, 1881-1891

Processing these items gave me a better understanding of ArchivesSpace and Princeton’s local institutional standards around archival processing. I deeply appreciate the Archival Description and Processing Team’s (ADAPT) recognition of the fact that archival processing is not neutral, and its commitment to the ongoing intellectual and emotional labor of creating archival records that prioritize remediating harmful descriptions and dismantling archival practices grounded in white supremacy and other systems of oppression. 

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Princeton’s Latin American Processing Archivist on bilingual archival description, specifically for the Homesteading and Farming Guide for Japanese Migrants to Brazil, 1936, the Homesteading and Farming Guide for Japanese Migrants to Paraguay, 1936, and an accrual to the Juan Gelman Papers, 1927-2014. It was very meaningful to work on bilingual archival description projects and contribute to increasing accessibility for Spanish-speaking Special Collections patrons.

I am proud to have collaborated with the Mudd Library Summer Fellow on redescribing two Lenape land deeds within the James Alexander Papers:

• Deed from Waweyjask, Wasckonahtaw, Nieshawand, Toweeckwa, Mansshim and Onackhponqguam to Edward Earle, Jr. for Land in Morris Country, New Jersey, Along the Rockaway River, 1709 November 29
• Deed from Tapehow, Rarawakon, Waweyask, Pequacheek, Powas, Nonzacum, Owanamus, and Orewandeca to Edward Earle, Jr. for Land in Morris and Somerset County, New Jersey, Along the Passaick River, 1709 November 29

Grant and I were provided indispensable guidance from members of the archival processing team on how to think through the various spellings of Lenape names in the absence of a naming authority while prioritizing access points and accessibility for patrons. Working with these land deeds was a chilling reminder of how settler colonialism is an ongoing structure, meaning that as long as settlers are occupying the land, settler colonialism hasn’t ended and in fact the land is being continuously colonized at every moment.

It reinforced my commitment to working towards Indigenous sovereignty, defined by Nick Estes as the “right to live where and how we want in our own homeland because that is the ultimate definition of self-determination and sovereignty, collective independence and autonomy.”

Another project that I worked on was reprocessing and performing box-level description enhancement on 65 boxes within the Story Magazine and Story Press Records, 1931-1999. I utilized folder level metadata generated by the 2023 Summer Fellow in order to improve discoverability of this large portion of the collection. This project gave me experience working with legacy description, rehousing, reappraisal, enhancement projects, and processing a larger amount of material (approximately 30 linear feet). 

I also revised 12 biographical notes as a part of the Inclusive Description Working Group’s (IDWG) Terms of Aggrandizement in Biographical Notes project. Per the IDWG’s Guidelines,

Biography/history notes are meant to provide information about a collection’s creator that will help researchers understand the context in which records were created; they should not be exhaustive, adulatory narratives that go on at length about the creator’s accomplishments.

These biographical notes had been identified as containing biased language that aggrandizes individuals. My revisions ensured that the biography note accurately reflects what is in its respective collection while refraining from aggrandizing terms that were disproportionately applied to descriptions of wealthy white men. 

Lastly, I received training on PUL’s born digital processing workflows, which I utilized when processing a USB in the Cuban Writers Protest and Dissent Collection that contained email files from Professor Buscaglia-Salgado pertaining to the demands of scholars, intellectuals, and artists for changes in the official doctrine of the Cuban Revolution laid down in a speech by Fidel Castro. I also gained experience processing optical media such as CDs and removable magnetic media such as Floppy Disks using KyroFlux. 

Public services:

During shifts in the Special Collections reading room, I learned how to use Aeon circulation software, assist researchers by retrieving patron requests, and the best practices for handling material. I also responded to reference questions via LibAnswers, providing research consultations and reference snapshots to virtual patrons.

Additionally, I selected objects from the Special Collections that speak to the history of the town of Princeton for the Experience Princeton newsletter in an effort to broaden departmental outreach efforts.

Lastly, I created a LibGuide on the Inclusive Description Working Group (IDWG), a working group made of ADAPT members and Library IT professionals. My LibGuide explains IDWG’s goal of describing archival materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections Princeton University Library manages, and includes relevant resources and information on IDWG projects.

Curatorial Work:

I had the opportunity to become familiar with collection connoisseurship and exhibition curation under the supervision of Princeton curators. I conducted catalog searches and compiled an object list based on Professor Arabindan-Kesson’s syllabus for a course titled “Museums and Medicine.” I had the opportunity to observe an object review session for the upcoming exhibit on René Char, celebrated French poet known for his involvement with the French Resistance during World War II.

I also created a Digital Princeton University Library (DPUL) exhibit titled Elsine-i S̱elās̱e: Dictionaries of the Arabo-Persian World which showcases a sampling of material from Princeton University Library’s Department of Special Collections that reflect the vibrant linguistic ecology of the Ottoman Empire. Featured items include Ottoman Turkish, Persian, and Arabic dictionaries, glossaries, and language workbooks. These materials speak to the importance of language learning and translation as a part of the flow and diffusion of knowledge across the Ottoman Empire and the Arabo-Persian world at large.

I created an inventory of 153 items that make up a previously unprocessed collection on language learning in the late Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Utilizing my skills in Turkish and Arabic, I matched the dealer’s inventory with the physical items, taking note of each item’s title, statement of responsibility, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, extent, dimensions, illustrations, languages, binding, and matching PUL MMSID and OCLC number. I individually foldered each item with provisional folder numbers. This project improved the collection’s inventory metadata and rehoused the materials in folders.

Future Plans:

I’m very excited to share that this upcoming year, I will be the Rooted & Relational Archives Fellow at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College. The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College is a university-based research institute whose mission is to produce, facilitate, and disseminate interdisciplinary research about the experiences of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. and to collect, preserve, and provide access to archival and library resources documenting the history and culture of Puerto Ricans. As the Rooted & Relational Archives Fellow, I will gain practical work experience in areas such as reparatory and bilingual description, community-oriented practices and spaces, and enrichment and diversification of the archival record.