The vast musical and personal collection related to the career of rock star Bruce Springsteen has now found a home in academia.
One university in New Jersey (where else?) will now house the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection. According to a press release issued earlier this week by Monmouth University:
Monmouth University will be the new home for the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, formerly housed at the Asbury Park Public Library, effective November 1. The collection, the most extensive of its kind, is comprised of books, concert programs, magazine and newspaper articles, and various other printed ephemera dedicated to the careers of Jersey Shore rock legend Bruce Springsteen and members of his bands. In all, the collection contains nearly 14,900 documents from 44 countries….
The partnership between Monmouth University and the fan community offers a great opportunity to ensure the preservation of Springsteen-related history at one place,” said Christopher Phillips, editor and publisher of Backstreets and president of the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection. “At the University, the collection will be publicly accessible to all who have a serious interest in Bruce Springsteen’s life and career.”
Apparently those who have merely a frivolous interest in The Boss are sort of out of luck. The Springsteen Collection will be accessible “by appointment only.”
Monmouth University is a private college with about 4,000 undergraduate students in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Springsteen’s relationship to Monmouth is vague, however. He never attended the school though he once performed at a concern about five miles away. He briefly attended Ocean County College in the 1960s but dropped out soon after he started. [Image via]
