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Sylvia Plath Archival Materials

Working with Sylvia Plath's papers provides valuable insight into her creative process. Below is a list of repositories that hold Sylvia Plath archival materials. These materials range from poetry drafts, correspondence, journals and diaries, photographs, and realia such as her elm plank writing desk and hand-painted cradle.

There are three major repositories for Plath materials: the Mortimer Rare Book Room at Smith College, the Lilly Library at Indiana University at Bloomington, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Emory University. As these collections are massive, I've just listed the collection titles. These are listed first. For the other repositories that hold Plath materials, I've tried to list - with as much detail - what they hold. These are listed second and in alphabetical order by college or university name.

Links are provided to online finding aids, catalog entries, or other useful information at the repository when possible. Some links will take you to Sylvia Plath Info blog postings. These often list in detail what the repository holds based on materials I have seen. Libraries often have paper copies of finding aids available for use on site only. When in doubt, contact the librarian, archivist, or curator for more information.

Major Collections

Smith College - Neilson Library - Mortimer Rare Book Room & Smith College Archives
Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts 01063, USA

Indiana University at Bloomington - Lilly Library
The Lilly Library, 1200 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405-5500, USA

Emory University - Robert W. Woodruff Library
Robert W. Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA

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Sylvia Plath's Library

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Smaller Collections

British Broadcasting Corporation Written Archives Centre
Peppard Road, Caversham Park, Reading, RG4 8TZ, UK

British Library, London
The British Library, St Pancras , 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, UK

Brown University, John Hay Library
20 Prospect St, Box A, Providence, RI 02912, USA

Harvard University
Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
Woodberry Poetry Room, Lamont Library, Room 330, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
Schlesinger Library, 10 Garden Street , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA

The Morgan Library and Museum
225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016 USA

Mt. Holyoke College - Williston Library - Archives & Special Collections
Mount Holyoke College, 50 College Street, South Hadley, Massachusetts 01075, USA

New York Public Library - Manuscripts and Archives Division
Room 328, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788, USA

Oriel College - Library
The Library, Oriel College, Oriel Square , Oxford, OX1 4EW, UK

Stanford University - Green Library - Department of Special Collections
Stanford University, Department of Special Collections, Green Library, Stanford, California 94305-6004, USA

University College Dublin - James Joyce Library
James Joyce Library, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

University of Cambridge - King's College - Archives Centre
Archive Centre, King's College, Cambridge, CB2 1ST, UK

University of Delaware - Special Collections
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware 19717-5267, USA

University of Edinburgh - Special Collections
Centre for Research Collections, Edinburgh University Library, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LJ, UK

University of Liverpool - The Sydney Jones Library - Special Collections
Sydney Jones Library, The University of Liverpool, PO Box 123, Liverpool L69 3DA, UK

University of Manchester - The John Rylands University Library - Special Collections
150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH, England UK

University of Maryland at College Park - Hornbake Library
Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

University of Minnesota - Elmer L. Anderson Library - Children's Literature Research Center
222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Wilson Library
Rare Book Collection, CB# 3936 Wilson Library, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890, USA

University of Reading (England) - Library
Special Collections Services, The University of Reading, Redlands Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 5EX, UK

University of Texas at Austin - Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, P.O. Drawer 7219, Austin, Texas 78713-7219, USA

University of Victoria (British Columbia) - McPherson Library
University of Victoria Libraries, PO Box 1800 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3H5, Canada

University of Virginia - Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia Libraries, PO Box 400113, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4113 |

Washington University at St. Louis - John M. Olin Library
Department of Special Collections, Campus Box 1061, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA

Yale University - Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Public Services Department, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, P.O. Box 208240, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8240, USA

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