Film Resources in the BPCL

Introduction

Since its premiere in 1966, Star Trek has become a worldwide phenomenon in twentieth century popular culture. What began as a science fiction television series, expanded into motion pictures, and eventually pervaded the commercial world with Star Trek memorabilia of all types. The Marie Wakefield Star Trek Memorabilia Collection encompasses a wide range of materials and will provide researchers and fans alike with a fun and varied set of Star Trek collectibles.

The collection was donated to the Popular Culture Library in March of 1998. The materials were initially sorted by type, and a preliminary inventory was completed. The final boxing, processing, and list of the inventory was completed by Linda Babcock and Patty Falk. The collection is available for research, however, duplication of materials must comply with applicable copyright laws.

Keep reading to find out more information on this collection.  To see a detailed inventory of this collection, consult the Star Trek Collection (SC-004) finding aid.

Biographical Sketch

Wakefield became interested in Star Trek at an early age. She bought her first Star Trek paperback at the age of fourteen and has been seriously collecting Star Trek memorabilia since 1969. Her collecting activity decreased while living overseas from 1987-1995. Wakefield decided to donate her collection to Bowling Green State University after realizing she had to go overseas again in April of 1998. She retired to Newport, OR in September 2010.

Scope and Contents

The Star Trek Collection includes Star Trek memorabilia given principally by Marie Wakefield, but also contains items received from Sandra Springer, and items from other miscellaneous sources. The collection contains a wide range of materials including, but not limited to, books, journals, clothing items, models, posters, games, puzzles, greeting cards, playing and trading cards, and calendars. All of the items have been sorted and arranged by material type. The categories are as follows: Plates, glassware, ornaments, dolls/figures, sculptures/models/globes, fabric materials, games/models/toys, paper materials, jewelry, multimedia materials, and miscellaneous items.

Materials marked with and asterisk (*) in this register have been donated by Sandra Springer, and items marked with a double cross (‡) are from miscellaneous sources. All other items were donated by Marie Wakefield.

Some materials in the collection are housed in different parts of the Popular Culture Library and the Music Library/Bill Schurk Sound Archives. The posters are housed within the poster collection of the Popular Culture Library, and some of the sound recordings in LP format are located in the Music Library/Bill Schurk Sound Archives on the third floor of the Jerome Library. These recordings are marked by (SRA) in this register. All books, journals, and videos from the Star Trek Collection can be found in the BGSU Catalog by searching under individual titles. All items that are manufactured by or associated with Paramount Pictures contain the abbreviation PP for Paramount Pictures in the publication information column.

Researchers interested in studying the phenomenon of Star Trek in a wide variety of items will find this collection exciting to explore and research.