Ashbery Resource Center: catalogue

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The bibliographic code field

This search field identifies materials in the ARC archive according to a system that groups similar items by type or format into various sections. The system of "bibliographic" codes described below has been adapted from the traditional bibliographic classification system used in David Kermani's John Ashbery: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Because that volume is a standard reference in the field of Ashbery studies, a basic consistency of organization between Kermani's work and this catalogue will be useful to scholars and researchers; therefore, the sections of this archival catalogue reflect the categories used there as much as possible. Please note, however, that Kermani's system has been substantially altered to suit the purposes of this catalogue, which serves primarily to document the various types of material held in the ARC archive. Although designed to be compatible with Kermani's work, this catalogue is not, in the strict sense, either a conventional bibliography or a sequel to Kermani's earlier volume.

The sections in this catalogue are designated by the bibliographic code letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, L1, L2, L3, L4, M, N1, N2, N3, and P. (The letters I and O have been skipped in order to avoid confusion with the numerals 1 and 0.) Information about the type(s) of material included within each section may be found in the chapters of this instruction manual that deal with specific bibliographic codes, as well as in the quick reference guide to those codes.

Sections A-G are defined here much as they were in Kermani's volume. However, Kermani's Section H, which included a relatively small number of miscellaneous materials (interviews, blurbs, recordings, etc.), has been expanded into this catalogue's Sections H, J, and K in order to efficiently deal with large quantities of interesting items in a variety of media (mostly post-1975). Sections L, M, N, and P have been added to accommodate material in the ARC's holdings that was largely beyond the stated scope of Kermani's bibliography (e.g. critical work about Ashbery, biographical and contextual information, etc.). These new and expanded categories, while assuredly practical and more convenient for the user, also facilitate the presentation of this archival material in ways that may provide insight into possible relationships between Ashbery's work and the multiple contexts within which it exists.

Because this is a work-in-progress, entries in this online catalogue are not consecutively numbered at this time. While this situation does not impede any of the search functions in the database, it does not allow for convenient abbreviated notation of individual entries (e.g. "C124"), requiring instead that references to individual entries be made in terms of specific bibliographic code section, title, date, and/or other publication information (e.g. "L1, Harvard Review, 2002 Spring"). However, items in this catalogue that were listed in Kermani's bibliography are referred to in the notes field of the entry by their bibliography numbers (e.g. "Kermani F271"); users are encouraged to check the original entries in the bibliography for possible additional information about those items.

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