ephemera

A term formerly used to refer to short-lived insects (eg the mayfly), latterly extended to apply to the minor printed documents of everyday life (tickets, handbills, labels, advertising material, etc) produced specifically for short-term use. The conservation and study of printed ephemera has increased in recent years. The Ephemera Society, founded in London in 1975, now has offshoots in the USA, Canada, Australia, and a number of European countries. Study collections are held in several libraries, among them notably the Bodleian, Oxford, and the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA.

In the world of collectors common types of ephemera include letters, advertising trade cards, cigarette cards, airsickness bags, posters, postcards, baseball cards, tickets, greeting cards, stock certificates, photographs and zines. Decks of the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards are recent example of ephemera because they will probably lose their original purpose and interest in a relatively short time.

In the field of Library and information science the term ephemera is also used to describe the class of published single-sheet or single page documents which are meant to be thrown away after one use. It includes: postcards, event-oriented posters, transportation and show tickets, baggage stickers, stock certificates, motor vehicle licensing forms, business cards, printed wedding invitations, trade cards, and other similar printed materials.

An academic or a national library often has a rare book department tasked, in part, with the acquisition and organisation of such ephemera, in order to preserve them as witnesses of local or national history.