Everyday at the National Steinbeck Center, museum visitors ask a variety of questions about John Steinbeck. “Where did he ….? Can you tell me …?” Volunteer staff field questions and direct museum visitors to specific areas of interest in the Exhibition Hall. But what if you are not at the Center and have a question or are intrigued by John Steinbeck and want to know the facts? Herb Behrens has the answers!The National Steinbeck Center has recently purchased new database software that will allow our online visitors to search our collection, including items that in storage.
The Center has a collection of artifacts, including archival materials, books, oral histories, newspapers, manuscripts, albums and audio-visual materials. We are in the transition phase of preparing our records for this future transfer. We expect to have a “search the collection” feature on the website once the transfer has taken place.
Research
If you are interested in conducting research or viewing certain parts of the collection not currently on display, please contact the Center to make an appointment well in advance.
Center staff can provide the first half-hour of research free of charge, after which the charge is $5 an hour.
Gaining Access to the Collection
The Archives: By appointment, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Books and artifacts cannot be loaned out of the museum.
Newspaper collection: By appointment, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This collection is not digitized and is accessed manually, page by page.
Photographs: By appointment, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The majority of this collection has been digitized. Descriptions and photo numbers are located on the research version of the Center database, and staff will assist you to browse through the photocopies. Depending on the intended use of the photographs, a copyright release may have to be signed.
To search the database: Please book ahead of time to view the Research version of the database and be prepared for staff to locate the item.
To make a donation or gift to the Archives please contact Deborah Silguero, curator of collections and exhibitions, at deborah@steinbeck.org. Please contact Herb Behrens, archivist, at admin@steinbeck.org to arrange an appointment to access the Collection.
History of the Collection
The Steinbeck Archival Collection
The Collection began in the 1950s with the purchase of several Steinbeck first-edition books. The first major acquisition came in 1964, when former Salinas Californian managing editor Jack Patton presented the Salinas Library with the author’s first editions and an extensive file of Steinbeck-related newspaper and magazine articles dating from the 1930s to the 1950s.
The second major donation of items came from private collector Adrian H. Goldstone, whose Steinbeck first editions and other material have also enhanced the Collection.
Donations have been received from Steinbeck family members, including Elaine Steinbeck, Steinbeck’s widow; Steinbeck’s sisters, Elizabeth Steinbeck Ainsworth, and Esther Rodgers; and John Steinbeck’s sons, Thomas Steinbeck and John Steinbeck IV. The Collection continues to grow thanks to many generous donations by patrons from around the United States and the world.
For detailed information about our Collection, download our Collection Overview. Also available for download the Archive Book List and Archive Stage, Screen, Television and Radio Memorabilia List.
To make a donation or gift to the Archives, please contact Deborah Silguero-Stahl, curator of collections and exhibitions, at deborah@steinbeck.org.