Skip to main content
Use the right side menu to identify relevant boxes and place requests.

The Rose and Joseph Pagnani Collection of Girls' Series Books

 Collection 0544-LIT

The Rose and Joseph Pangani Collection of Girls' Series Books consists of 300 books published from 1917-2005, with a large portion published from 1930 to 1969. "Series books" are books that consistently feature the same protagonist. However unlike "books in a series", the characters in "series books" seldom mature, age, or change. The protagonist in a "girls' series" book is usually a girl in her late teens or early twenties who goes on adventures on her own or with a small group of friends' around her age. The heroines of girls' series usually had an interesting career such as an amateur sleuth, a nurse, or a stewardess. Girls' series books were often disparaged for their formulaic plots and the cheap manufacture of the books themselves.

The majority of books in this collection were donated by Elissa Pangani in honor of her parents Rose and Joseph Pangani. The collection includes series such as the Nancy Drew Mystery Series, the Cherry Ames Nurse Stories, the Dana Girls Mystery Stories, and the Vicki Barr Flight Stewardess Series.

Dates

  • Creation: 1917-2005
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1930-1969

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections Reading Room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Photocopies or digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.

Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.

Extent

300 Items

Language of Materials

English

Hebrew

Arrangement

The collection is organized into 36 series, the first 35 are arranged alphabetically by the titles of the girls' series, with the last series containing "non-series" books. Within each series, books are arranged chronologically by original date of publication.

Custodial History

The bulk of this collection was donated to the University of Maryland Libraries Special Collections in 1998 by Elissa Pagnani, who gave the collection in honor of her parents Rose and Joseph Pagnani. Some items have been added to the original collection.

Related Materials

The following sources provide access to materials related to the Rose and Joseph Pagnani Collection of Girls' Series Books. The listed items include specific copied materials removed from the collection but available through the link.

Farah's Guide by David Farah. [Pasadena, Calif.]: Farah’s Books, 1999.

Processing Information

The books in this collection are arranged into 36 series and chronologically by original date of publication within each series. The books are cataloged and can also be found by searching the University of Maryland Libraries catalog: https://umaryland.on.worldcat.org.

Title
Guide to the Rose and Joseph Pagnani Collection of Girls' Series Books
Status
Completed
Author
Caroline Ackiewicz
Date
2020-04-21
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212