Special Collections and Research is excited to release the first inventory of materials in the John Dunning III Collection that are ready for public use. John Dunning is a longtime Oklahoma City resident and proprietor of the local record store and music venue, Trolley Stop Records. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Oklahoma City County Historical Society and is a local expert on historical memorabilia. The Dunning Collection at the library includes items from everyday life that tell the history of regular working people in Oklahoma City as far back as 1890. The inventory lists archival boxes filled with advertisements, newsletters, event programs and tickets, souvenir postcards and matchbooks, restaurant menus, political campaign flyers, visitor guides, and so much more. The paper items are organized by subject, then divided again by location or date according to the items' origin. 

The Dunning Collection is made up of ephemera created throughout the everyday lives of people in Oklahoma City. Oxford English Dictionary defines ephemera as: paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles, and that is exactly why the library has preserved them. There are Oklahoma City driver's licenses from the 1950s, commercial mail sent as promotion for locally owned department stores John A. Brown's and Rothchild's, programs for plays performed at Mummer's Theatre, pledge cards from local churches, supply catalogs for sporting goods and outdoor equipment, virtually every area of business and industry is represented in the boxes of the Dunning Collection. 

If you are curious to learn more, you can listen to an episode of the Metro Library Podcast and hear Special Collections Librarians talk about specific items in the collection or you can browse through hundreds of images in the Digital Collections catalog. THe Dunning Collection contains thousands of items, many are oversized maps and posters and some are physical objects like baseball uniforms and hotel ashtrays. Every piece is a remnant of Oklahoma City history that is now being preserved for display and use by the public for research. Exploring the box inventory is easy, you can browse topics alphabetically or use a browser search to find specific keywords. Any of the boxes in the inventory can be requested for research in the Oklahoma Room. All you need to do is email special.collections@metrolibrary.org or call 405-606-3738 and let us know what you would like to see and we will schedule an appointment.