Special Collections Research Center
William & Mary Special Collections Research CenterWilliam & Mary Special Collections Research Center staff
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Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Shelley L Dowling papers, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.
Donated by Shelley L. Dowling, MLS, JD Archive
Shelley L. Dowling was the Librarian of the United States Supreme Court from 1989 to 2003. She graduaed from Bishop Amat Memorial High School in 1965 and entered Mount Saint Scholastica College. After graduation, she worked in Cornell Library System, Georgetown University Law Library, and other libraries before working for the Court.
This collection includes career correspondence, documents, photographs, awards, books, artifacts, and research material (dated from 1904 to 2019) from the 45-year career of Law Librarian Shelley L. Dowling. Included are materials from Dowling's college, graduate school, and Law school. The collection primarily contains materials from the United States Supreme Court where Dowling was Librarian of the Court from 1989 to 2003. Correspondence includes those from professional colleagues, visitors to the Court, and Supreme Court Justices.
The collection is arranged in four series: Series I. Chief justices papers, Series II. Correspondence, Series III. Personal papers,and Series IV. Professional papers.
This series primarily contains documents from and related to the United States Supreme Court justices. The justices include chief justices Warren Burger and William Rehnquist as well as justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Jinsburg. The documents include letters, photographs, printed copies of email, magazines, and newspaper articles.
This series includes correspondence documents related to Shelley L. Dowling. They include gift cards, letters, printed copies of emails between Shelley L. Dowling and visitors and scholars to the Supreme Court.
This series contains Shelley L. Dowling's personal papers. The documents include photographs, letters, printed copies of emails, newspaper articles, resumes, and printed internet articles. Papers include those from Shelley Dowling's high school, Bishop Amat Memorial High School as well as other schools and educational institutions she had studied and worked at, including William & Mary, Georgetown University, and Cornell University.
This series includes Shelley L. Dowling's professional documents, primarily her resumes, speches, and reports of events during which she worked as the Supreme Court Librarian. The documents include printed copies of emails, letters, photographs, newspaper articles,and drafts of speeches.