The Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies’ efforts to document the history of the field precede the existence of the Center itself, dating back to a 1939 Carnegie Corporation grant to review the literature on the effects of alcohol on the individual. This project, led by E.M. Jellinek, was so successful that the staff of scholars and documentalists was invited to continue the operations at the Laboratory of Applied Physiology at Yale. The abstracts, later published in the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, became the foundation of a singular repository for publications on alcohol, known as the Classified Abstract Archive of the Alcohol Literature (CAAAL). Out of these efforts also grew an Information Division within the laboratory (later spun off as part of the Yale Center of Alcohol Studies, the direct ancestor of today’s CAS), which collected, housed, organized, and cataloged the alcohol literature.

Center of Alcohol Studies Library service desk

As a key part of the Center of Alcohol Studies since its inception, the CAS Library became the home of many historical artifacts representing the trends throughout the development of alcohol studies. The Library had been affiliated with Rutgers University Libraries, operating as an independent entity supporting the Center, until its closure in December 2016 as part of a wider reorganization.

The collection, formerly housed in the Brinkley and Adele Smithers Hall, Busch Campus, Piscataway, New Jersey, was relocated and integrated into the collection of the Rutgers University Libraries (RUL). Before its closure, the Information Services Division was engaged in a variety of projects, including digitizing its physical archives, also relocated and currently stored in the closed stacks of RUL Annex on the Busch Campus.

Committed to serving both the Rutgers community and the general public, the staff of the former Information Services Division is pleased to share resources from its archival collection on these pages providing a glimpse into the wealth of resources at the Alcohol Studies Archives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Browse these answers at your convenience before contacting us.

Where are the Alcohol Studies Archives located?

The physical items are stored in a climate-controlled environment in the Rutgers University Libraries Annex in Piscataway, NJ, along with the card catalog. The digital collection is a work in progress, and more content will be available as we assess and digitize print materials.

I am working on an article / a book / my dissertation, and I’d need some guidance / documents / source verification.

Please submit your request via the Rutgers University Libraries Ask A Librarian contact form, and be sure to specifically identify the Digital Alcohol Studies Archives. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can to find the best solution.

Can you scan XYZ document / image for me?

It depends. We might have digitized a particular item, in which case we would be happy provide it for you. However, we are currently unable to work on new digital projects.

How do I give you credit? How do I cite the source?

We would appreciate if you credit the "Rutgers Alcohol Studies Archives" for any of the documents and images you wish to use. If you locate an item in RUcore, the record will provide a simple model citation as well as an option to export it to citation management software applications that you can customize for the citation style, for example, APA 7th:

Jellinek, E. M. (1941). Facts on delirium tremens (Lay supplement No. 4). New Haven, CT: Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Inc. [Alcohol Studies Archives, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey]. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-cxr8-kd16

Affiliations

The Digital Alcohol Studies Archives project is a collaboration between Rutgers University Libraries-New Brunswick and the Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies.

About the Archives