The David Silcox/Thelma Lewis Collection was delivered to The John Updike Society Archive at Alvernia University in December, 2010, and on May 6, 2011 The Larry C. Randen Collection will be deposited with Alvernia archivist Eugene Mitchell, whom members met at the October conference.

According to Randen, the collection consists of “twelve Banker’s Boxes, four of which are books by and about Updike, plus movie DVDs, videos, CDs, and cassettes. The other eight boxes contain 24 three-inch and four-inch 3-ring notebooks with plastic protector sheets that contain reviews, articles, essays, etc. by and about Updike,” with a CD provided that contains much of the material.

Randen added, “There is a wealth of material in the collection that also includes a lot of photographs of Updike published after his death which I’ve printed out on glossy photographic paper. I have most of the caricatures of Updike done by David Levine (1926-2009) for The New York Review of Books, plus other comic likenesses done by Ken Fallin, Zach Trenholm, and other artists. I believe any interested inquirer paging through the file books will be in for some real surprises about the breadth of information gathered in them.”

Randen said he collected the material along with David Lull as co-researchers for The Centaurian website operated by James Yerkes. “I’m truly grateful my collection will join The David Silcox/Thelma Lewis Collection and the Rachael C. Burchard Papers as part of The John Updike Society Archives and other collections of Updike materials this concentration might attract in the future. It’s been a source of great personal satisfaction and enrichment to discover and preserve these literary artifacts for posterity,” Randen said.