The world’s largest Springsteen printed memorabilia collection, having outgrown its long-time home at the Asbury Park library, will move to Monmouth University in West Long Branch on November 1.
The Star-Ledger reports the move has involved a four-year search for a new home, as the collection now features 14,900-documents devoted to the Boss and his music.
Songbooks, tour programs, magazines and other documents from 44 countries are now housed at the Asbury Park Public Library, where they are kept in storage and available for viewing only by appointment. At Monmouth University, the collection will be better preserved and more widely available to the public, school officials said.
"The collection not only offers Springsteen fans the chance to explore various aspects of his career, but students, scholars, and journalists will also benefit from the access that Monmouth University will now provide," said Robert Santelli, executive director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and a Monmouth graduate who helped broker the deal with the private university. "The additional space at Monmouth allows for the collection to grow and, in the future, include recordings, oral histories, film footage and other documents," Santelli added.
Library officials and the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, a nonprofit, fundraising group, have been searching for a new site for the memorabilia for years. "At the university, the collection will be publicly accessible to all who have a serious interest in Bruce Springsteen’s life and career," said Christopher Phillips, president of the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection and editor and publisher of Backstreets, a magazine devoted to Springsteen and other Jersey Shore musicians.
Monmouth University President Paul Gaffney said the 6,500-student university on the Jersey Shore is the perfect home for documents related to Springsteen, the E Street Band and the rest of the Boss’ career. "Students and faculty from Monmouth University, especially our music industry students, will benefit greatly from having access to these documents," Gaffney said.
After November 1, the full collection will be available for viewing at Monmouth University - Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Read more at the Star-Ledger here.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Bruce Springsteen& The E Street Band – The E Street Shuffle / Having A Party
Hammersmith Odeon – London, UK – November 18, 1975
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