For a library planning to add to a collection and develop a bibliography in a given area, the computer database can be a key factor in terms of efficiency of the process and the comprehensiveness of the end result. The Ohio State University Libraries (OSUL) in Columbus, Ohio house the outstanding William Charvat Collection of American Fiction, named in honor of a distinguished professor of American authorship at Ohio State University. For works published in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Charvat Collection compares favorably with collections at Yale University, the Henry E. Huntington Library, and the American Antiquarian Society. The Charvat collection is particularly strong for the period 1876–1900. Among 20th‐century titles, its holdings for the period 1901–1925 are rivalled only by the Library of Congress. Efforts have begun to develop holdings in American fiction from 1926 through the present.