The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries hosted members of The Wodehouse Society on Sept. 27 as part of the organization’s biennial convention held in Nashville. The gathering at Vanderbilt’s Central Library drew members from 23 U.S. states and seven countries.
Founded more than four decades ago in appreciation of popular 20th-century British humorist P.G. Wodehouse, the international society includes lifelong fans as well as those who have recently discovered the writer’s works, serious book collectors, and academic scholars of literature.
In 2018, the Heard Libraries entered a collaboration with the Wodehouse Society to develop a collection of Wodehouse materials, including rare first editions of published works and artifacts owned by the author. In addition to pieces generously donated by society members from their personal collections, the university’s Special Collections and University Archives has grown the current P.G. Wodehouse Collection at Vanderbilt to more than 1,300 items through purchased acquisitions.
“We take great care to preserve the physical materials you’ve sent us, and that care means they’ll last much longer than they otherwise would,” said University Librarian Jon Shaw at the Sept. 27 event. Shaw detailed the Heard Libraries’ climate-controlled archival facilities and meticulous cataloging and preservation practices. “And because we’re an academic library, we’re committed to digitizing as many of these materials as we can and making them accessible online.”
Special Collections has created digital images of the photographs, letters, objects and ephemera in the collection and made all items with copyright clearance available online while it works to obtain the necessary permissions for the other materials. The libraries also have digitized first-edition copies of Wodehouse’s Leave It to Psmith and The Inimitable Jeeves—both published in 1923—and will make these available in February 2025 to mark the 50th anniversary of the author’s death.
In addition, the Heard Libraries are teaming with the British Library, where Wodehouse’s personal archive is on loan, in this digital preservation initiative. The British Library recently completed digitizing several items from his collection including a letter Wodehouse penned to his daughter, Lenora, as well as story outlines, manuscript and typescript drafts, and corrections. The two libraries will promote one another’s efforts and seek opportunities for trans-institutional research collaborations.
“Due to your entrusting Vanderbilt with this collection, we are bringing people together and ensuring that Wodehouse remains relevant today and for many years to come,” Shaw said. “Our ultimate goal is to make these materials accessible as broadly as possible and to preserve them in perpetuity for the rest of the world.”
The Sept. 27 gathering featured the Special Collections-curated exhibit “Blandings, Jeeves, and Psmith: The Worlds of P.G. Wodehouse,” currently on display in Central Library’s fourth-floor lobby through November 2024; a designated “treasure room” where attendees could interact with artifacts up close; a talk by Douglas Murray, professor of English at Belmont University, about how Wodehouse’s works reflect post-World War II English society; and a catered reception. Wodehouse Society members also received an enamel lapel pin depicting a plum in honor of the beloved writer’s nickname.