BOX XIII. 1 – Dix collection administration and procurement

Folder 1 of 6

14 items

Administrative and procurement correspondence between Arthur Goldsmith, Jr., Information Services Librarian at APSU, and the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, T.N., the National Archives and Records Service in Washington, D.C., the Special Materials Division of the Library of Congress, and the University Libraries Social Welfare History Center of the University of Minnesota.

Letter dated 2007 from Ms. Daisy VanDenburgh, great niece of Dorothy Dix, to Inga Filippo, curator of the Dorothy Dix Collection. Ms. VanDenburgh granted $10,000 in praise of the established Dorothy Dix Collection for use “as desired” to continue the legacy of her great aunt Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer. An endowed scholarship was formed to acknowledge an APSU Dix student scholar. Annually a $500 scholarship is awarded to an outstanding APSU journalism/communication student having contributed to the research on the writings by Dorothy Dix.

The box’s major content is the correspondence between Arthur Goldsmith, Jr. and Huntington Patch and other APSU administrators including the letter written by the head librarian of the F.G. Woodward Library, Johnny Givens, who initiated the search for writings by local authors unique to the region. There are a few items pertaining to publicity information about the Dorothy Dix collection attainment. Titles scripted as in original articles.


1. Fifteen miscellaneous items including the postal delivery receipt for the first part of the Dix collection delivered to APSU on September 8, 1969; book plates from the “Library of A. Huntington Patch;” postcard from the Library of Congress thanking Mr. Goldsmith for the data sheets on the Dix collection for inclusion in the National Union Catalog and a few display signs used when showing the Dix collection to the campus and Clarksville communities, APSU, 1969-1977.

2. Document stating holdings of letters, newspaper clippings, and travel diaries (1919-33) of Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer. Directory of Repositories, Tennessee State Library and Archives, nd.

3. Holding summary of the Dorothy Dix, Milton Henry and the Hillman Land & Iron Company collections available at the APSU Archives. National Archives and Records Service, APSU, February 26, 1981 (5 pieces).

4. Correspondence between Ms. Patricia Hodges, department of special collections, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY., and Mr. Arthur Goldsmith Jr., special collection librarian, APSU, relating the Dix collection content, November 28, 1984 and December 6, 1984 (3 pieces).

5. Letter to the editor, Harriett Ostroff, of the Manuscripts Section, Cataloging Division of the Library of Congress concerning the size of the Dix collection. Arthur Goldsmith Jr., APSU, April 12, 1983.

6. Letter to Arthur Goldsmith, Jr. about Dix collection records having been corrected for use in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections entries. Harriett Ostroff, editor, NUCMC Manuscript Section, March 4, 1983.

7. Letter to the editor, Harriett Ostroff, of the Manuscript Section, Cataloging Division of the Library of Congress about corrected entry records for the Union Catalog with attached corrected data. Arthur Goldsmith, Jr., APSU, February 2, 1983 (3 pieces).

8. Letter to Arthur Goldsmith, Jr. about the Dorothy Dix collection records that were published in the 1979 volume of the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. Harriett Ostroff, editor of the National Union Catalog of Manuscripts Section, January 12, 1983.

9. Letter to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C. about additions to the records of the Dorothy Dix collection. Arthur Goldsmith, Jr., APSU, December 10, 1981.

10. Document stating the second donation of the papers of Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer to the Felix G. Woodward Library, Austin Peay State University. Signed by Arthur Goldsmith Jr., November 25, 1981 (2 pieces).

11. Dix collection data sheet for The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. Arthur Goldsmith, Jr., APSU, November 14, 1977 (3 pieces plus 6 catalog cards).

12. Letter to Arthur Goldsmith, Jr. regarding Dix collection description for the Women’s History Sources Survey. Andrea Hiding, curator, August 2, 1978, July 27, April 1976 and July 27, 1977 (3 different correspondences, 7 pieces).

13. Letter to Arthur Goldsmith, Jr. stating that Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer is not on the list of authors qualifying for inclusion in the American Literary Manuscripts. J. Albert Robbins, chairman, committee on manuscript holdings, English department, Indiana University, Bloomington, April 18, 1975 (6 pieces).

14. Letter from Daisy VanDenburgh to Inga Filippo stating how impressed she was with the creation and procurement of the Dorothy Dix Collection.
Ms. VanDenburgh visited Clarksville and Austin Peay State University and was given a special showing of the Dorothy Dix Collection earlier in 2007. In the letter Ms. VanDenburgh also mentions that her daughter-in-law Sherry VanDenburgh will call next week “to see how to handle a donation to farther your efforts” with the Dorothy Dix Collection. June 1, 2007.

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