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Finding Aid for the Square Books Collection (MUM00428)

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The Square Books Collection is open for research.

Finding Aid for the Square Books Collection



Descriptive Summary

PURL: http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00428/
Title: Square Books Collection
Dates: 1993-2006
Collector: Square Books (Bookstore)
Physical Extent: 3 boxes (1.5 linear feet)
Repository: University of Mississippi. Department of Archives and Special Collections. University, MS 38677, USA
Identification: MUM00428
Location: General Special Collections
Language of Material: English
Abstract: The collection contains news articles about Square Books, an independent bookstore in Oxford, Miss., as well as promotional materials and newsletters issued by the store.

Administrative Information

Processing Information

Collection processed by Archives and Special Collections staff. Finding aid encoded by Kathryn Michaelis, January 2012.

Additions

No further additions are expected to this collection.


Subject Terms

Square Books (Bookstore)
Independent bookstores
Bookstores -- United States


Formats

newsletters
clippings (information artifacts)
catalogs


Historical Note

Founded in 1979 by Richard and Lisa Howorth, "Square Books is a general independent bookstore in three separate buildings (about 100 feet apart) on the historic town square of Oxford, Mississippi, home of the University of Mississippi and many great writers, including William Faulkner, Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, and, for a time, both Willie Morris and John Grisham. The main store, Square Books, is in a two-story building with a cafe and balcony on the second floor; Off Square Books is a few doors down from the main store and has lifestyle sections such as gardening and cookbooks; and Square Books Jr, the children's bookstore, is in a building on the east side of the square. Square Books is known for its strong selection of literary fiction, books on the American South and by Southern writers, a large inventory of reduced-price remainders, and its emphasis on books for children. The store hosts the popular Thacker Mountain radio show and over 150 author events a year."

(Taken from the Square Books website)


Scope and Content Note

The collection contains news articles about Square Books, an independent bookstore in Oxford, Miss., as well as promotional materials and newsletters issued by the store.


User Information

Preferred Citation

Square Books Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi

Access Restrictions

The Square Books Collection is open for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.


Related Material

Resources at the University of Mississippi

Writer Comes to Town: a Serial Short Story by Oxford Writers. Call number: PS558.M7 W75 2009. Housed in Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library.


Arrangement

This collection is arranged by format and chronologically within each format.


Container List

"Speed Reader" Email Newsletters
Folder 1.1 April 2003
Folder 1.2 May 2003
Folder 1.3 June 2003
Folder 1.4 July 2003
Folder 1.5 August 2003
Folder 1.6 September 2003
Folder 1.7 October 2003
Folder 1.8 November 2003
Folder 1.9 December 2003
Folder 1.10 January 2004
Folder 1.11 February 2004
Folder 1.12 March 2004
Folder 1.13 April 2004
Folder 1.14 May 2004
Folder 1.15 June 2004
Folder 1.16 July 2004
Folder 1.17 August 2004
Folder 1.18 September 2004
Folder 1.19 October 2004
Folder 1.20 November 2004
Folder 1.21 December 2004
Folder 1.22 January 2005
Folder 1.23 February 2005
Folder 1.24 March 2005
Folder 1.25 April 2005
Folder 1.26 May 2005
Folder 1.27 June 2005
Folder 1.28 September 2005
Folder 1.29 2006
"Dear Reader" Newsletters
Scope: Each folder contains assorted issues from a given year.
Folder 2.1 1991
Folder 2.2 1992
Folder 2.3 1993
Folder 2.4 1994
Folder 2.5 1995
Folder 2.6 1996
Folder 2.7 1997
Folder 2.8 1998
Folder 2.9 1999
Folder 2.10 2000
Folder 2.11 2001
Folder 2.12 2002
Folder 2.13 2003
Folder 2.14 2004
Folder 2.15 2005; March-April 2007
Miscellaneous Promotional Materials
Folder 3.1 At Random, Spring 1993
Scope: News publication from Random House publishing company. Includes article on Square Books, titled "At the Heart of Oxford, Mississippi are Books, Books, Books" (page 76).
Folder 3.2 Photocopy of "Book Notes," a column by Richard Howorth, taken from Oxford Town, 23-29 September 1993
Scope: Column discusses publisher Seymour Lawrence
Folder 3.3 New Yorker article citing Square Books, July or August 1995
Folder 3.4 Program for event, "Arthur Miller, American Writer," 17 October 1995
Folder 3.5 Square Books holiday catalog, December 1999
Folder 3.6 USA Today feature on Square Books, 3 August 1999
Folder 3.7 Bookmark advertising book signing, 'Tis, by Frank McCourt, 12 January [2000?]
Folder 3.8 Square Books holiday catalog, 2001
Folder 3.9 Square Books holiday catalog, 2003
Folder 3.10 Off-Square Books fliers, February 2003
Folder 3.11 Square Books holiday catalog, 2004