Early English Books in PILOT

The Baron-Forness library recently completed a five-year project to catalog its collection of Early English Books on microfilm.

Nearly every English book published from the invention of printing to 1700 is in this collection. Included are the earliest editions of such classics as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, original versions of royal statutes and proclamations, military, religious, legal, parliamentary, and other public documents, numerous early English ballads and carols, and sermons, homilies, and the Book of Common Prayer.

Early English Books contains works by such authors as Malory, Spenser, Bacon, More, Erasmus, Boyle, Newton, and Galileo. The collection also includes musical exercises by Henry Purcell, novels by Aphra Behn, and pamphlets, almanacs, calendars, and many other primary resources.

The Early English Books series is based on A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland, and of English Books Printed Abroad 1475-1640, by Alfred Pollard and Gilbert Redgrave, and Short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English books printed in other countries, 1641-1700 by Donald Wing. It contains more than 45,000 titles on 2,500 reels of microfilm, comprising millions of pages. Each reel of film contains several works. Titles found in PILOT have the reel number and position on the reel at the end of the call number.

The reels require a microfilm reader to view, which is located along with the film in the Microforms Room on the first floor. The equipment is not difficult to use, but if you have any problems locating or using the equipment, feel free to ask a member of the library faculty or staff.

The library obtained funding to pay for some of the records last year from part of a grant from the Library Services and Technology Act awarded through the State Library of Pennsylvania.