Street & Smith Project

FAIN: PW-269299-20

Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL 60115-2828)
Matthew Charles Short (Project Director: July 2019 to present)

Digitizing 4,409 volumes of dime novels and story papers published by Street & Smith, a New York City firm in operation from 1855 to 1959.  A partnership among five academic libraries—Northern Illinois University, Villanova University, Stanford University, Bowling Green State University, and Oberlin College—the project would provide images and full texts of the works, catalog records for the volumes, and indexed entries for every story, series, and author, to augment an existing online bibliography of dime novels.

The Street & Smith Project seeks to digitize the dime novels and story papers of the only major publisher to survive the dime novel era. In addition to making thousands of these publications freely and widely available for the first time anywhere in over a century, the project will also add index entries for every story, series, and author to the online dime novel bibliography at dimenovels.org. This bibliography will be used to aggregate each partner’s digital dime novel holdings, while unpacking the complex relationships that exist between the dime novels themselves.

Media Coverage

A Digital Afterlife for Dime Novels (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Judith H. Dobrzynski
Publication: Wall Street Journal
Date: 5/29/2020
URL: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-digital-afterlife-for-dime-novels-11590778083

Associated Products

Edward T. LeBlanc Dime Novel Bibliography: Street & Smith (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Edward T. LeBlanc Dime Novel Bibliography: Street & Smith
Author: Demian Katz
Abstract: Bibliographic listings on dimenovels.org for series published by Street & Smith.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://dimenovels.org/Publisher/3/Show
Primary URL Description: The publisher page for Street & Smith on dimenovels.org, listing each series.
Access Model: open access

The Society of Assassination (1904) Spotlight (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: The Society of Assassination (1904) Spotlight
Author: Nancy Caronia
Abstract: A lesson plan for the dime novel, The Society of Assassination; Or, The Detective’s Double Disguise, in which the famous detective, Nick Carter, enacts two stereotypical portrayals that can be described as Italian minstrelsy.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://dimenovels.lib.niu.edu/learn/spotlights/assassination
Audience: Undergraduate

The Compact of Death (1905) Spotlight (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: The Compact of Death (1905) Spotlight
Author: Michael DiBacco
Author: Nancy Caronia
Abstract: A spotlight of the dime novel, The Compact of Death, or, Nick Carter’s Singed Hair Clue, which features the use of disguise to challenge traditional racial power dynamics and the use of drag to challenge traditional gender roles.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://dimenovels.lib.niu.edu/learn/spotlights/compact
Audience: Undergraduate

Papers for the People: A Dime Novel Symposium (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Papers for the People: A Dime Novel Symposium
Author: Matthew Short
Author: Demian Katz
Abstract: Papers for the People: A Symposium on the Dime Novel featured panel discussions with notable and upcoming dime novel scholars. These conversations focused on how dime novels can be used in the classroom and offered regional educators, academics, and students at the graduate and undergraduate level the opportunity to learn about and discuss dime novels directly with experts in the field.
Date Range: 2020-11-04 to 2020-11-05
Location: Zoom
Primary URL: https://dimenovels.lib.niu.edu/papers-for-the-people
Primary URL Description: Symposium announcement and list of participants.
Secondary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD7ltOGjCXc&list=PLFimZNT99GExI6-NTeSLo-FK5t1uuJsqx
Secondary URL Description: Symposium recordings.

A Digital Afterlife for Dime Novels (Article)
Title: A Digital Afterlife for Dime Novels
Author: Judith H. Dobrzynski
Abstract: An article about dime novels and efforts at NIU and Villanova to preserve them, in particular the Street & Smith Project.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-digital-afterlife-for-dime-novels-11590778083
Access Model: subscription only
Format: Newspaper
Periodical Title: Wall Street Journal
Publisher: Wall Street Journal

From Farm to Fortune (1900) Spotlight (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: From Farm to Fortune (1900) Spotlight
Author: Deidre A. Johnson
Abstract: A lesson plan featuring the dime novel "From Farm to Fortune; or, Only a Farmer's Daughter," the first in a series of thirty issues following the adventures of the beautiful and talented Marion Marlowe, a country girl who left the family farm in Hickorytown, Connecticut, for a more rewarding life in New York City.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://dimenovels.lib.niu.edu/learn/spotlights/fromfarm
Audience: K - 12

Marion Marlow on the Prairie (1901) Spotlight (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Marion Marlow on the Prairie (1901) Spotlight
Author: Deidre A. Johnson
Abstract: A lesson plan featuring the dime novel, "Marion Marlowe on the Prairie; or, A Thrilling Ride Across Kansas", a later issue in the only dime novel series aimed at girls and featuring a recurring female protagonist.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://dimenovels.lib.niu.edu/learn/spotlights/marionmarlowe
Audience: K - 12

Color Our Collections 2022: Street & Smith Project (Web Resource)
Title: Color Our Collections 2022: Street & Smith Project
Author: Short, Matthew
Abstract: This year NIU's annual submission to #ColorOurCollections features illustrations from dime novels and story papers recently digitized as part of the Street & Smith Project.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://library.nyam.org/colorourcollections/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/02/Matthew_Short_niu_coc2022.pdf

Conserving and digitizing the New York Weekly dime novels (Blog Post)
Title: Conserving and digitizing the New York Weekly dime novels
Author: Hacker, Chris
Author: Smith, Astrid
Author: Newton, Sarah
Author: Wingfield, Rebecca
Author: Handel, Dinah
Abstract: The New York Weekly, like all dime novels and story papers, was mass-produced and printed on thin paper, meaning that the issues had degraded and were fragile, and required conservation treatment and additional preparation and handling for digitization. Adding to the complexity was the size of The New York Weekly, measuring 42" x 28" when unfolded. In consultation with the Conservation department, the Digital Production Group determined the safest and most efficient method of digitizing the issues, while minimizing the handling and movement of the material. In the following blog post, Chris Hacker, Astrid Smith, and Sarah Newton will describe the conservation assessment, repairs, and digitization workflow for these rare and fragile Dime Novels.
Date: 2022-03-15
Primary URL: https://library.stanford.edu/blogs/stanford-libraries-blog/2022/03/conserving-and-digitizing-new-york-weekly-dime-novels

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