THE CENTER FOR RAY BRADBURY STUDIES: A CASE STUDY IN SUSTAINING A SINGLE AUTHOR ARCHIVE Jason Michael Aukerman Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Program of American Studies, Indiana University December 2020 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty of Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee ______________________________________ Jonathan R. Eller, Ph.D., Chair ______________________________________ Heather K. Calloway, Ed.D. October 30, 2020 ______________________________________ Philip K. Goff, Ph.D. ______________________________________ Raymond J. Haberski, Jr., Ph.D. ii © 2020 Jason Michael Aukerman iii DEDICATION For my daughters, Brynne and Bryar. May you find your bliss and follow it always. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many wonderful people have played critical roles in helping me complete this degree and dissertation. Before anyone else, I need to express my absolute gratitude to my wife, Karla, and my daughters, Brynne and Bryar. All three of them have sacrificed greatly so that I could pursue this endeavor. There is no way that this would have been possible if I did not have the full support of my family. Without the support of my parents, it would not have been possible for me to leave a secure job and pursue a terminal degree in the humanities. I will always be grateful for their support in every form as I pursued the things that I love. I was fortunate to have a dissertation committee who helped me navigate numerous obstacles that occurred while completing this dissertation, while never once adding an obstacle to my degree completion path. I understand this is rare when working at this level, and I am thankful for the relentless support and brilliant insights of Dr. Jonathan Eller, Dr. Ray Haberksi, Dr. Heather Calloway, and Dr. Phil Goff. The National Endowment for the Humanities funded the Preservation Planning Project through a generous grant that permitted the Bradbury Center to bring five archival and preservation expert consultants for an intensive four-day on-site consultation. This funding also covered the expenses for four of the five site visits that were essential to this case study research. I leaned heavily on the expertise of Laura Schmidt, Justin Seidler, Ramona Duncan-Huse, Lisa Lobdell, Jenny Johnson, Bill Fliss, and Annette Kirk at various points throughout the NEH-funded case study field research that informed chapters three and four this dissertation. I am greatly indebted to each and every one of them. v My fellow members of the inaugural cohort in the IUPUI American Studies Ph.D. program became fast friends and allies. We viewed each other not as competitors but as fellow pilgrims working toward our degrees. They offered constant support and encouragement, and proved to be some of the best thought partners I have ever encountered. I will always be grateful that I was able to complete this terminal degree alongside some of the kindest and most brilliant human beings I have ever met—Abbey Chambers, Stacia Murphy, and Michael Kaufmann. Over my last seven years at IUPUI, a number of teachers and mentors helped me transition into a full-time faculty position and welcomed me as a colleague without hesitation long before this degree was completed. I need to acknowledge a few of these wonderful people: Jon Eller, Steve Fox, David Sabol, Karen Johnson, Tom Marvin, Kim Brian Lovejoy, Megan Musgrave, David Hoegberg, Mike Hughes, David Beck, Sarah Layden, Jason Kelly, Ray Haberski, Phil Goff, Heather Calloway, Scott Weeden, Terry Kirts, Rob Rebein, and Jennifer Price Mahoney. vi Jason Michael Aukerman THE CENTER FOR RAY BRADBURY STUDIES: A CASE STUDY IN SUSTAINING A SINGLE AUTHOR ARCHIVE The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies (cited also as the “Bradbury Center” or the “Center”) is a single author archive, museum, and outreach center housed in the Institute for American Thought, located in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. This dissertation employs a case study methodology to explore the complex issue of single author archive management and sustainability as it applies to the Bradbury Center by extending the research process beyond working with primary sources and published materials. The applied research project unfolded in two phases. The first involved an intensive four-day on-site consultation in which five professional archivists and preservation experts from across the Midwest visited the Bradbury Center and examined its collections and policies. Following their visit, the consultants prepared recommendations concerning artifacts, manuscripts, correspondence, physical layout, access, operational procedures, processing priorities, and environmental/climate control for artifacts. The on-site consultation team also informed objectives, goals, and strategies for addressing the preservation needs of the Center’s vast and varied collections, aiding in systematically moving forward with curatorial initiatives, and planning for general organizational development. The second research phase involved site visits to five peer institutions to tour facilities, interview directors and archivists about best practices, and established a plan for adapting these practices to the Bradbury Center. Findings from both research phases inform the Bradbury Center’s immediate and long-term plans for center staff, vii fundraising, spatial expansion and renovation, and the Center’s strategy for identifying key constituencies as it endeavors to serve a broad spectrum of public and academic audiences through various outreach and programming initiatives. Upon completion of the case study field research, a formal report was prepared. That report serves as the cornerstone for this applied dissertation. Additional chapters cast a vision for the Bradbury Center and address potential opportunities to serve the Indianapolis region by tapping into tourism markets, conventions, and local cultural festivals and celebrations while also developing into an international research hub as the sole entity that preserves the material legacy of Ray Bradbury. The introductory chapter situates the Bradbury Center within the legacy of the central figure of the Center—Ray Bradbury. Jonathan R. Eller, Ph.D., Chair viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Ray Bradbury’s Abiding Influence ................................................................................1 Bradbury’s Place in the American Literary Tradition ...................................................6 Bradbury’s Quest for Immortality ...............................................................................17 Chapter 2: The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies: History and Collection Overview.......22 The Early Years: 2007-2013 ........................................................................................37 A New and Expanded Mission: 2013-2020 .................................................................41 The Bradbury Centennial: January 2019-August 2020 ...............................................49 Bradbury Center Succession Plan: 2019-2021 ............................................................49 Current Activities: Fall 2020 .......................................................................................50 Achieving Immortality .................................................................................................51 Chapter 3: NEH Preservation Planning On-Site Consultation ..........................................53 Field Research Overview .............................................................................................53 Significance............................................................................................................54 Activities ................................................................................................................57 Findings from the On-Site Consultation ......................................................................62 Physical Preservation Plan .....................................................................................63 Digital Preservation Plan .......................................................................................84 Research and Collection Access Policies...............................................................88 Processing Plan Priorities by Material Type..........................................................91 Exhibits ................................................................................................................108 Impact of the On-Site Consultation ...........................................................................116 Chapter 4: NEH Preservation Planning Site Visits ..........................................................118 Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL .........................................118 Key Institutional Differences ...............................................................................128 Key Takeaways ....................................................................................................131 The J. R. R. Tolkien Collection, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI ..................137 Key Takeaways ....................................................................................................143 Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, Mecosta, MI...........................................149