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Frederick Gale Ruffner, Jr., library and literary activities papers, ca. 1979-2005.
Amount:
18 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Organized into six series:
Series 1, Council For Florida Libraries
Series 2, Florida Center for the Book
Series 3, Author and Book Festival
Series 4, Key West Literary Seminar
Series 5, Literary Landmarks Association
Series 6, Friends of the Library, USA.
Arranged by topic or record type within each series.
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Biographical/Historical:
Frederick Gale Ruffner, Jr. (1926-2014) was born in Detroit, Michigan, and was an avid reader throughout his childhood. In 1954, Ruffner and his wife Mary put together the Encyclopedia of Associations, which marked the beginning of Gale Research Company. By the time Ruffner sold Gale in 1985, the company had 400 employees and had published more than 2,000 titles. Also in 1985, Ruffner and his son Peter founded Omnigraphics, another reference publisher based in Detroit.
During his time as head of these two companies, Ruffner maintained a second home and office in Florida. There he helped to establish the Council for Florida Libraries, a group devoted to creating more public awareness of libraries in Florida, and helped fund the establishment of organizations and events such as the Key West Literary Seminar in 1981 and the Florida Center for the Book in Broward County. Ruffner also founded the Literary Landmarks Association in 1986, which became a nation-wide project that recognizes locations tied to literary figures, authors, or their work. Since its founding, the Association has dedicated more than 180 landmarks throughout the U.S., including 21 in Florida.
Summary:
This collection consists of materials documenting Frederick Gale Ruffner's activities in library and literary developments in Florida in the late twentieth century. The collection contains files of the Council for Florida Libraries, Florida Center for the Book, Author and Book Festival, Key West Literary Seminar, Literary Landmarks Association, and Friends of Libraries U.S.A. and is organized into six series as described below.
Series 1, Council For Florida Libraries: This series consists of files documenting the Council's administrative activities from 1979 to 2005. These records include correspondence between Council members, organizational background information and founding documents, and a scrapbook, as well as copies of newsletters with information about the Book and Author Festival, Key West Literary Seminar, and Florida Center for the Book.
Series 2, Florida Center for the Book: This series includes records about several activities of the Center, including Books Aboard Burgee (in which yachts display a "burgee" or flag signifying to other yachts that they have books on board that they are willing to exchange for other books) and Literary Maps of Florida. It also includes correspondence with presenters, printed materials, promotional articles, pictures and other records documenting the organization's programs from 1984 to 2004.
Series 3, Author and Book Festival: This series contains records documenting the planning and organization of the Festival from 1979 to the early 2000s. The files include correspondence with authors about their books, event forms, photos, news releases and appearances at events around the state cosponsored by the Council for Florida Libraries, friends groups, and local libraries.
Series 4, Key West Literary Seminar: This series includes records from 1982-2007 documenting annual seminars (beginning 1983) that focus on literary themes such as Short Stories, Literature and Travel, and authors such as Tennessee Williams and Ernest Hemingway. The records include press releases, photos, schedules, newspaper clippings, and correspondence.
Series 5, Literary Landmarks Association: This series consists of records from the Literary Landmarks Association (LLA), a nationwide organization that began as the Florida Literary Landmarks. The records document the LLA from its founding in 1986 to 1992, and include correspondence with authors, newsletters, awards, administrative files, and records of dedications. This series also includes information about authors (such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings) whose residences received the status of a Literary Landmark.
Series 6, Friends of the Library, USA: This series consists of records documenting the activities of the Friends of the Library, USA (FOLUSA). The records date from 1985 to 2005 and include newsletters, brochures, correspondence, how-to guides, and agendas about the organization and its various activities. This series also includes drafts of FOLUSA awards and reports and examples of stationery used by its members.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Ruffner, Frederick G.
Librarians Florida Libraries Florida Library administration Florida.
Scrapbooks. aat Programs. aat Newsletters. aat Press releases. aat Maps. aat Letters. aat Clippings. aat Photographs. aat Agendas. aat Articles. aat Broadsides. aat Posters. aat
Broward County (Fla.) Florida. Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Key West (Fla.)
for detailed listing.