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There has been progress on many fronts in the year that has elapsed since the publication of the last issue of the newsletter. An apparent rise in scholarly interest in Porter is evident in the increased number of research visits and reference inquiries. Both independent scholars and those affiliated with domestic and foreign academic institutions have made use of Porter materials. Although there was increased use of the collection by residents of the state of Maryland, the bulk of those who used the Porter and Porter-related collections in the last year were from other states: Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. In addition, there was one visiting scholar from a Norwegian university. Telephone, mail, and e-mail inquiries have also been received from researchers in California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Canada.

Popular interest in Porter also seems to be increasing. During the period from May 1994 to April 1995, there were 408 visitors to the Katherine Anne Porter Room, an average of thirty-four a month. Many of these guests took advantage of the hours the room was open on Monday and Thursday afternoons during the academic year, thanks to the volunteer docents. Dorothy Galvin and Freddy Baer, who returned to serve during the 1994-1995 academic year, were stalwart mainstays. They were joined by Ginny Reinhart and Jackie Wintle during the autumn semester. Student assistants Jennifer Bourget and Ed Day also filled in during that semester. During the spring semester, Mary Moore, Beverly Lewoc, and Elizabeth Warner joined the pro- gram, which will continue during the coming academic year.

Several groups were entertained in the Porter Room during the year. In October, an group of invited guests witnessed the opening of an exhibit to honor University of Maryland photographer Al Danegger. Part of the exhibit, featuring Danegger's photographs of Miss Porter, was mounted in the Porter Room by graduate assistant Jodi Bunnell. A lively and inquisitive group of sixty Advanced Placement English students and two of their teachers from a suburban Maryland high school visited the Porter Room in late January for a brief explanation of literary research in primary sources. In April, conventioneers from the Association for Childhood Education, whose records are also housed in the Archives and Manuscripts Department, were delighted to learn about Miss Porter. Also in April, some of the readers for the Libraries' annual reading marathon, including Art Buchwald, were received in the room. The Board of Governors of the University of Maryland at College Park Alumni Association met in the Maryland Room in early May; before the meeting and during the break, I was able to give informal tours of the room. Finally, on May 25, a book signing and reception in honor of Janis Stout's new work on Porter was held in the room.

Significant improvements to the exhibition/reception area of the Porter Room were completed in summer 1994. Track lighting, walnut baseboard molding, and picture molding were installed. New exhibit cases and other furnishings ordered last year will arrive this summer, enhancing the Libraries' ability to mount museum-quality exhibits in this space. There continues to be interest in using Porter materials for Libraries' exhibits. Various items from the Porter collection were used in "Transforming Homer: The Odyssey of a Myth," mounted in connection with a University production of Claudio Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, and in exhibits in honor of women's history month and National Library Week.

The Libraries received several generous donations of Porter and Porter-related materials in 1994 and 1995. Most notable both in value and size were those conveyed by Miss Porter's nephew Paul Porter of Austin, Texas. When he visited in May 1994, he brought with him two beautiful perfume bottles given to Miss Porter by Eudora Welty. Another donation of additional manuscript and other materials for the collection of his papers, housed in the Archives and Manuscripts Department, was received in July 1994. During 1995, he has donated nine books from his own library, seven of which were given to him by Miss Porter. Also acquired from Mr. Porter are five letters written to him by his aunt between 1946 and 1965. The manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs have been incorporated into the papers of Paul Porter, the books into Miss Porter's library, and the perfume bottles into the collection of her memorabilia.

W. Hewitt Bayley sent significant augmentations to his wife's papers in 1994. His two separate donations included correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and books. Most notable among these acquisitions are Mrs. Bayley's notes from the University of Kansas writers' conference where she met Miss Porter in 1948.

An unexpected gift of two of Miss Porter's letters came from Julius S. Held. The correspondence between them was initiated by Professor Held's response to Ship of Fools, the second of her letters to him, written on 28 April 1963, is perhaps one of the clearest statements Miss Porter made about the novel. These letters have been incorporated into Miss Porter's papers.

Maria Walsh also added to the papers of Thomas F. Walsh; in February, she donated copies of two photographs used in Katberine Anne Porter and Mexico: The Illusion of Eden. Another acquisition made in 1994 includes five letters written by Miss Porter to George Core from 1968 to 1973. These, too, have been incorporated into Miss Porter's papers.

There have also been significant preservation initiatives taken in the last year. The charming and valuable 1922 caricature of Miss Porter by Miguel Covarrubias was successfully treated by a paper conservator. The caricature and the Mexican painting on bark given to Miss Porter by Thomas Walsh were archivally framed by a firm that does work for major museums. A group of Porter photographs, including works by Manuel Alvarez Bravo and George Platt Lynes, received treatment to stabilize and preserve them. Both a textile conservator and a furniture conservator examined Porter memorabilia this year. The Libraries are awaiting the report of the furniture conservator in order to determine what appropriate treatment of Miss Porter's furniture, housed in the Porter Room, may be undertaken in the future. At present, approximately half a linear foot of brittle and flaking correspondence and manuscript materials from Miss Porter's papers are being treated by a paper conservator.

Progress has also been made in processing Porter and Porter-related materials since May 1994. Graduate assistant Jodi Bunnell worked completely through the papers of Katherine Anne Porter in 1994, doing minimal reprocessing of the papers and recording suggestions for rearrangement that will be used when the collection is entirely reprocessed for microfilming. Some revisions based on her work have already been incorporated into the guide to the collection. Other significant work on Miss Porter's papers was undertaken by Jennifer Bourget, another graduate assistant. She reorganized Series IV (printed matter) and created an entirely new series for Miss Porter's collection of periodicals, incorporating a large volume of material that had previously been unprocessed. In addition, she has completed the processing and preparation of an inventory of more than 700 audio recordings that formerly belonged to Miss Porter. This valuable part of the collection will be incorporated into the guide sometime this summer. Graduate assistant Debby Volk and I were also able to complete revisions to the inventory of the photograph collection which at present is a separate ninety-page guide.

Porter-related collections on which work has been completed or is in progress include the papers of Paul Porter, Ann Heintze, Seymour Lawrence, Grace Delafteld Day Spier, and Donald Elder. Jodi Bunnell completely reprocessed the Papers of Paul Porter, incorporating additional materials donated by Mr. Porter while at the same time rewriting the guide to the collection. James Lacewell, another departmental student assistant, reprocessed the Papers of Ann Heintze and completed a new guide. Karen Fishman, an intern from the College of Library and Information Services, incorporated unprocessed manuscript materials into the existing Seymour Lawrence collection and created a new finding aid. Debby Volk completed a new guide for the Spier papers. Docent Jackie Wintle, who retired recently from the Library of Congress, is working on a revision to the guide to the papers of Donald Elder.

The plans for preservation microfilming of the Porter collection are proceeding slowly. Lauren Brown, Curator of Archives and Manuscripts, and I met with and received clarification from the University's legal office concerning the copyright and other issues involved in microfilming the collection and the use of such microfilm. As noted above, reprocessing of the collection continues piecemeal. In May, graduate assistant Debby Volk processed selected boxes of Miss Porter's correspondence to provide an accurate baseline assessment of the staffing needed to complete the project. This test processing has continued throughout summer 1995. Outside funding, such as grants, donations, or a combination of them, will have to be sought, as only a fraction of the total cost as now projected can be financed with Libraries' funds. If any of the members of the society have suggestions for sources to underwrite this effort or any questions concerning the Libraries' Porter holdings, please contact me, Beth Alvarez, Curator of Literary Manuscripts, Archives and Manuscripts, McKeldin Library, University of Maryland at College Park Libraries, College Park, MD 20742, 301-405-9298, ra60@umail.umd.edu.