Among the dusty old items in the Rutgers University Libraries Annex, one collection jumps out—literally. Housed in spectacular, custom-made red archival boxes with golden lettering, the Raymond G. McCarthy Memorial Collection is a treasure and a visual reminder of the legacy of one of the most influential figures in alcohol education.
Raymond G. McCarthy, a pioneer in alcohol education
Raymond G. McCarthy (1901-1964) was associated with the Center of Alcohol Studies (CAS), both at Yale and at Rutgers, from 1944 until his death in 1964, in various capacities, including director of the Yale Plan Clinics, director of the Summer School of Alcohol Studies (SSAS), and professor of education. He was instrumental in developing educational materials and public health proposals regarding alcohol education. McCarthy held leadership positions in a myriad of organizations, including the alcoholism division of the departments of public health in three states during his career. When the Center moved to Rutgers in 1962, McCarthy, as the new SSAS Director, quickly transformed the Summer School into a specialized institute focused on graduate-level training, pioneering modern alcohol education.
The Collection on display at the conference, presented by Adeline Tallau, Rutgers CAS Librarian
After McCarthy’s unexpected death in 1964, a memorial collection was established by Mark Keller, then editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, and Selden D. Bacon, director of CAS. The collection was named in McCarthy’s honor to reflect his lifelong commitment to scholarship, interdisciplinary research, and public education in the field of alcohol studies.
The collection was on display at the annual meeting of the North American Association of Alcoholism Programs (NAAAP) in Atlantic City, NJ, in September 1965, after it was officially dedicated by Selden Bacon at the President’s Luncheon.
The scope of the collection
The McCarthy Collection contains the full text of all original documents abstracted by Center staff through 1982, including:
- All items from the Classified Abstract Archive of the Alcohol Literature (CAAAL)
- Original texts of articles abstracted in the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol and the Journal of Studies on Alcohol
- Miscellaneous indexed publications of significant research value
The McCarthy Collection along the wall of the CAS Library in 2015.
The collection was displayed in the CAS Library until its closure in 2016, when it was relocated to Rutgers University Libraries. In total, the collection spans 428 file boxes, stored in designated locations throughout the Annex (location codes: B37A07 to B41L06).
Organization of the collection
Items are filed by their CAAAL or McCarthy numbers. Access is provided through:
- The master catalog—a real, physical piece of furniture and an archival gem
- Author or subject indexes from the Quarterly Journal and Journal of Studies on Alcohol
- Subject searching via CAAAL
- Topical bibliographies prepared by Center staff
The CAS Library also created several guides to the collection, organized by decades, similar to a traditional card catalog. These guides are invaluable for verifying citations and building bibliographies.
In 1981, the collection’s holdings were microfiched and organized into three chronological sections:
- Section A (ca. 1935–1950): Document numbers 1–5700
- Section B (1951–1965): Document numbers 5701–11500
- Section C (1966–1976): Document numbers 11501–16110 and 340001–371146
For those seeking a more structured entry point, the collection is accompanied by a three-volume author index, created to provide guidance for the microfiche version: The Raymond G. McCarthy Memorial Collection of the Alcohol Literature – Inventory / Contents.
These volumes are especially helpful for researchers tracing scholarly contributions over time or compiling bibliographies by author. These volumes support historical research tremendously, as explained in the blog post Author Index to the McCarthy Collection.
Although the collection exists on microfiche, stored in its original boxes from the 1980s, it is rarely used today. This version would be a prime candidate for digitization.
The McCarthy bibliography project
The McCarthy Collection is rooted in the Center’s long-standing commitment to bibliographic documentation and providing access to alcohol literature. Following four similar completed and published bibliographies by major scholars in alcohol studies, E. M. Jellinek, Howard Haggard, Selden Bacon, and Mark Keller, a new project is underway to compile Raymond G. McCarthy’s comprehensive bibliography. The updated McCarthy bibliography will merge the existing list of his works with items recently uncovered in the Rutgers archives.
One of the key resources for this type of project is the Raymond G. McCarthy Memorial Collection. With its three-volume author index, it confirms the accuracy of the record and also provides guidance on where to find the full text, both of which are indispensable for local access and retrieval or document delivery via interlibrary loan.
History matters
Other than a bibliographic resource, the McCarthy Collection can also be considered a fitting memorial to Raymond G. McCarthy, a pioneer in alcohol education, therapy, and public health, whose work significantly contributed to defining the field. This collection reflects McCarthy’s commitment to scholarship, accessibility, and interdisciplinary collaboration, which was shared by his colleagues, who respected him as a person and appreciated his contributions to alcohol studies, which helped establish this collection.
McCarthy’s intellectual legacy is appropriately preserved in this remarkable print repository. The collection is a treasure trove for anyone exploring the evolution of alcohol studies, and its continued use ensures that his contributions remain accessible to future generations.