The collection is maintained by the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL).
Version Date: August 2024
Statements
- Collection Description
Purpose:
The primary purpose of the endowed Mandeville collection of parapsychology materials is to provide research resources in the areas of parapsychology and the occult sciences. The focus is on positive practices within these areas. The material is to be readily available to scholars and others who are interested in these areas.
History of Collection:
The Mandeville Collection is an endowed collection of more than 16,000 items relating to the occult sciences and parapsychology. In 1966, Merten J. Mandeville, retiring University of Illinois Professor of Commerce, donated his private collection of 400 titles and created a fund for new acquisitions. Initially, the collection was referred to as the “Merten J. Mandeville Library of Parapsychology and Occultism” or the “Merten J. Mandeville Collection in Parapsychology and Occult Sciences.” At some point between 1974 and 2019, the name had been shortened to the “Merten J. Mandeville’s Occult Sciences Collection;” after finding evidence in the University Archives of Mandeville’s desire to highlight parapsychology in the documented acquisition terms, the name of the collection was reinstated as the “Merten J. Mandeville Collection in Parapsychology and the Occult Sciences.” The collection includes books and journals, with strengths in astrology and witchcraft. Selected new acquisitions are housed in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL), but many of the approximately 12,000 titles are located in the Main Stacks. Rare items, such as an early 16th century work on astrology, are housed in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Related materials may also be found in other campus libraries.
Mandeville made two stipulations to the donation. First, he asked that no Mandeville funds be used to purchase materials on harmful magic. Second, he requested that a separate and complete catalog of the collection be maintained and that the books themselves remain out in the open where anyone could browse through them. This was to ensure that the collection was not hidden away and that materials could easily circulate. The most significant books in the collection, as well as the original card catalog, were to be hosted in the Education and Social Science Library (ESSL). In 2012, the Education and Social Science Library was combined with the Economics collection located in the former Business and Economics Library (BEL) and Applied Health Sciences Library (AHS) to form the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL) and management of the collection was likewise transferred to SSHEL.
Items received through the endowment 1984-1998 and 2003-present can be found in the library catalog by using “Mandeville Collection” as an “Any field” filter in an advanced search. A card catalog in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL) lists items purchased before 1984. In 2023 the items in the card catalog were reviewed and added to the online catalog.
The University Library’s collection of astrology journals and books was enhanced significantly in 2014 by a donation of over 16,000 items from Michael Erlewine, an astrologer and Internet entrepreneur. Erlewine contacted the University Library in 2009 about possibly donating his collection from the Heart Center Astrological Library in Big Rapids, Michigan. His ultimate goal was to make it available, in its entirety, to a research university for permanent retention. Erlewine’s materials complement the Mandeville Collection of Parapsychology and the Occult Sciences and greatly expand those holdings. Part of the Erlewine collection includes papers from Gary Duncan (Neil Llewellyn Bloch), an important research astrologer. Papers from Erlewine and Duncan are located in the University Archives while books and journals are listed in the Library catalog.
Estimate of Holdings: 16,000 items
State, Regional and National Importance:
The Mandeville Collection is one of the largest publicly accessible, growing collections for the occult sciences and parapsychology within the United States. Most other collections in academic libraries are limited in scope and stored in archives.
Other collections of note within the United States include Rice University Fondren Library’s Archives of the Impossible, the University of West Georgia Ingram Library’s human consciousness collections, and the Eileen J. Garrett Parapsychology Foundation at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. This last collection is the only one that provides an estimate of its holdings at 12,000 volumes, on par with the Mandeville Collection.
Unit Responsible for Collecting:
Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL)
Location of Materials:
Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL). Older materials may be located in the Main Stacks, Oak Street Library, or Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Citations of Works Describing the Collection:
Downs, Robert B. (ed.). Guide to Illinois Library Resources. Chicago: American Library Association, 1974. pp.178
Ferraz de Oliviera, Nicholas. “New! Erlewine Astrology Collection.” University Library, 21 April 2014. https://www.library.illinois.edu/news/erlewine/
Katz, Debra Lynne. “Merten J. Mandeville Library of Parapsychology and Occultism.” Mindfield Bulletin, vol. 12, no. 1, 2020, pp. 19-25. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345919003_Merten_J_Mandeville_Library_of_Parapsychology_and_Occultism_Explorations_and_Adventures_in_Library_Research_at_the_University_of_Illinois
- General Collection Guidelines
Languages:
English is the primary language of the collection. Materials in other languages are acquired selectively.
Chronological Guidelines:
No restrictions. Emphasis is on the 20th century to the present.
Geographical Guidelines:
No restrictions. Materials from English-speaking countries form most of the collection.
Treatment of Subject:
Emphasis of the collection is on positive practices in parapsychology and the occult sciences. Research material is acquired in all formats, with an emphasis on print. Fiction and poetry about these areas is not collected, in keeping with the endowment guidelines. Biographies of major figures in the field are collected selectively. Small press material is essential to this collection since the areas covered often appear in publications from specialized organizations. Astrology, witchcraft, and UFOs are the most represented areas in the collection as of 2024.
Types of Materials:
Print and electronic formats are collected, with an emphasis on print. Tarot cards and rune stones are collected selectively and located in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Date of Publication:
No restrictions.
Place of Publication:
No restrictions. The emphasis is primarily on English speaking countries.
Principal Publishers
Llewellyn, International Society for Astrological Research, Parapsychology Foundation, Hay House, Midwest UFO Network.
III. Collection Responsibility by Subject Subdivisions with Qualifications, Levels of Collecting Intensity, and Assignments
Below is a table that lists specific subject subdivisions within the collection. Each row in the table lists a specific subject subdivision, followed by three columns noting: Collection Strength, Primary Assignments and Secondary Assignments. The Existing Collecting Strength column notes how well the existing collection covers that topic on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being very strong. The Primary Assignments column lists departmental libraries that have the greatest collection intensity of subject materials, respectively. In the case of 2 or more libraries listed, the collection intensity is comparable. The Secondary Assignments column lists departmental libraries where additional materials may be found.
| Mandeville Collection | |||
| SUBJECT SUBDIVISIONS | EXISTING STRENGTH | PRIMARY ASSIGNMENTS | SECONDARY ASSIGNMENTS |
| Astrology | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Cereology | 2 | SSHEL | |
| Cryptogeography | 2 | SSHEL | |
| Cryptozoology | 3 | SSHEL | |
| Divination | 3 | SSHEL | |
| Dreams | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Esoteric Religion & Mysticism | 3 | SSHEL | HPNL |
| Magic(k) | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Paganism | 3 | SSHEL | |
| Paranormal Phenomena | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Parapsychology & the Occult | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Psychic Phenomena | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Spiritual Healing & Wellness | 3 | SSHEL | |
| Spiritualism | 3 | SSHEL | HPNL |
| UFOs | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Witchcraft/Wicca/ Neo-Paganism |
4 | SSHEL | |