The Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive (JBLCA) will be moving from the Clements Library to the University Library, where it will make its new home in Special Collections. Shaped by the donation of a rich assemblage of cookbooks, menus, and other material collected over many years by Janice and Daniel Longone, the JBLCA is recognized around the campus and across the country as a premier collection of books, ephemera, and other material that both documents and defines the American culinary experience. The transfer to Special Collections is intended to fully realize the potential of the JBLCA for teaching, learning, and research at the University of Michigan and beyond. The Special Collections Library is enthusiastic about acquiring, expanding, caring for, and promoting the use of the JBLCA.
JJ Jacobson, as curator of the collection, will join the staff of the Special Collections Library. Jan Longone, in her role as “ambassador” for the JBLCA, will be appointed as adjunct curator. Over the course of the coming months, Clements and Special Collections staff will work together to ensure a smooth transfer of the collection itself, which will be available for research at the Clements until sometime this spring, when it will be available in the Special Collections Library.
The Clements will continue to hold a fine collection of materials for research in early American culinary history. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Special Collections Library to ensure that researchers have access to the full range of resources for the study of culinary history and related topics.