We're on the 4th floor of Jerome Library.
Email us at bpcl@libanswers.bgsu.edu.
Call us at 419-372-2450.
Beginning in the late 1960s, popular culture scholars argued that materials from everyday life (like movies, genre fiction, comic books, television, and beyond) were just as worthy of rigorous study as the more "traditional" media studied in higher education. The Browne Popular Culture Library (or BPCL) has many resources related to the history of popular culture studies movement, particularly related to the PCA/ACA as well as BGSU's own history.
The Department of Popular Culture was established at Bowling Green State University by pioneering popular culture scholar Ray B. Browne in 1972. He also established the Ray & Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies at BGSU (often called the Browne Popular Culture Library, or BPCL) in 1969. Our library has many books and manuscripts related to the foundation of popular culture studies here at BGSU, including materials written by the founding instructors and the work of the BGSU Popular Press.
The Popular Culture Association (PCA) was established in 1969 as a community of scholars and fans studying and publishing about Popular Culture. Many founding members of BGSU's Department of Popular Culture were also founding members of the PCA, including Ray Browne. The American Culture Association (ACA) joined forces with the PCA in 1979 and began hosting joint annual conferences dedicated to Popular and/or American Culture studies. The Browne Popular Culture Library serves as the repository for the PCA/ACA's organizational papers, and as such, the library has richly documented the organization's history.
The BPCL has materials examining diversity, equity, and inclusion in popular culture -- and in popular culture scholarship. Here are a few selections from our collection.
We are interested in further developing our holdings related to diversity in popular culture studies. Please contact us to inquire about a donation of relevant materials.