Archival Materials

Main Content

Materials Available in the Center

Researcher Kiosks

Starting in August 2023, there are two computer kiosks for researchers inside the Center for Dewey Studies. These kiosks provide access to: 

  • Works About Dewey Digital Archive - Scanned or PDF versions of all items in the Works About Dewey bibliography. 
  • InteLex Past Masters - The Collected Works of John Dewey, 1882-1953 (38 volumes), The Correspondence of John Dewey, 1858-2011 (2023 Comprehensive Edition, 4 volumes), The Class Lectures of John Dewey (2 volumes), as well works by Emerson, James, Peirce, and Chauncey Wright.

Archival Materials

Current status as of September 2023

Most of the archival materials of value to researchers are held in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at the Morris Library. You can find them via the John Dewey Research Guide. The Center for Dewey Studies does hold some archival files of interest that have been accumulated in the course of the publishing and research projects that have been carried on here over the years. Some of these materials may require permission to access. 

Those of lasting archival value we plan to relocate to the keeping of the SCRC, which will ensure they are stored in proper archival conditions and accessible to researchers for a long time to come. Other materials of use to researchers without such archival value will be retained in the Center or digitized. Where definite plans exist, those are mentioned below.

Contents of Filing Cabinets

  • Main File (photocopies of source material and production files from the Collected Works) – Transferred to SCRC. Learn about these files via ArchivEra. 
  • The Correspondence of John Dewey (photocopies, transcriptions, production files) – Transferred to SCRC. Learn about these files via ArchivEra. 
  • The Class Lectures of John Dewey (production files) – Transferred to SCRC. Learn about these files via ArchivEra. 
  • Works About Dewey (photocopies of all items in the Works About Dewey through 2016) – outside cabinets 1-17 – We are in the process of verifying that all of these have been scanned, after which we intent to eliminate the paper copies of the collection and provide local access to digital versions. A-D and W-Z have been processed in this way and are available digitally in the Center. 
  • Additional Class Lecture Notes - Cabinet 5
  • Sidney Hook Bibliography (photocopies of all items in Sidney Hook: A Checklist of Writings plus additions) – Cabinet 1
  • Dewey Newsletter; reviews of Dewey Center publications; reviews of Dewey’s works; dissertation awards information – Cabinet 8
  • Center correspondence – Cabinet 11
  • Biography files (used in production of Correspondence) – Cabinet 2
  • Various other production and administrative files not listed above, awaiting processing

The Center for Dewey Studies Philosophy Library

In the “reading room” of the Center is a large library.  The books are arranged into categories, and then alphabetically by author. Categories include Works About Dewey, general philosophy books, including a large selection on American philosophy, and books on Education.  This shelving also holds a number of journals on subjects including philosophy, education, and editing. 

Precritical Editions of Dewey’s Works

These shelves contain all the precritical editions of Dewey’s published writings. They were collected at the very beginning of the project in order to produce the Collected Works. The various editions were examined and collated using the Hinman Collating machine. This allowed the editors to observe and record differences in each publication. This collection defines the critical edition of the Collected Works. Because of the rarity of some of these volumes, you will need permission to access this collection from the Director.