CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The first truckload of boxes containing 75 years worth of Superman memorabilia from superfan Mike Curtis arrived at the Cleveland Public Library, and now the work begins.

Curtis, 63, of Greenbrier, Arkansas, donated his collection of about 17,000 pieces to be used in a permanent exhibit at the downtown library honoring the Man of Steel and his creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

When it opens in 2017, it will be the closest thing to a Superman museum the city is likely to get. Curtis, writer of the syndicated Dick Tracy comic strip, said he wanted his collection to be enjoyed and appreciated, and felt that the birthplace of Superman was the perfect spot.

Amy Dawson, manager of the library's literature department, said they will categorize every piece of paper, every magazine article about Superman, every lunchbox, every game, every glass, every toy and then preserve it the best way possible.

"There is a lot here," she said, looking at the dozens of boxes in a library storage area. "We will apply for a grant to get money so we can preserve and restore the pieces. There are some valuable pieces here that people will want to look at."

The job of doing the physical, painstaking labor involved goes to Michael Olszewski, president of the Siegel and Shuster Society. Olszweski is working toward a master's degree in library science, and working with this collection qualifies as work toward his degree. He is officially an intern with the Cleveland Library.

He said it will take until the end of the year to categorize and describe each item. Dawson said they will work with specialists to clean up and preserve many of the pieces.

"How do you get stains off of a Superman picture on a 40-year-old glass?" she mused. "I don't want to damage it, we have to talk to people who have done this before we go any further."

Olszewski and Dawson carefully opened box after box and removed the items inside for examination. Olszewski, who has quite a Superman collection himself, would occasionally stop to ooh and ahh at a particular treasure.

"This is a poster for the 1950 'Atom Man vs. Superman' serial and it's signed by Kirk Alyn, who played Superman. This is beautiful. This is a Superman 45 rpm record player from 1978, which is something you don't see very often. And it has Superman records on it."

The serials would run before the regular movie feature at movie theaters for months. They would often end on a cliffhanger, designed to bring the audience back for the next Saturday matinee.

Much of the Curtis collection is from the 1970s and later, including toys, games, dolls, costumes and other projects readily available at the time. All have value, some more than others. These will be the pieces that people will remember buying for themselves back when they were kids.

Then there are the treasures like the 1942 hardback book "The Adventures of Superman" by George Lowther, complete with original Joe Shuster drawings. It is signed Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in the 1950's Superman television series starring George Reeves.

There is also an odd-looking Superman costume that is part of the Superman costume George Reeves wore on the 1957 "I Love Lucy" show with Lucille Ball.

Dawson said she hoped to put together a Superman exhibit using a selection of the items this November, to give people a taste of what the full display would look like. She also wants to show how carefully the library treats its possessions, to encourage other Superman collectors to make donations or loans of Superman items.

"We would love more items to add to the collection," she said. "We will only be able to show portions of the collection at a time, and we will rotate it to keep it fresh. If there are other collectors out there who wish to loan us an item for a while, we would be happy to display it."

Another reason is that Curtis is planning a trip to Northeast Ohio in November to be a guest at the Akron Comiccon, Nov. 5 and 6 at the John S. Knight Convention Center. Dawson said she would like to show Curtis how well they are treating his donations.

Curtis will be brought back to Cleveland in 2017 for the official opening of the Superman display.

There are many items of Superman (and Supergirl) inspired clothing, including pajamas, capes, costumes, raincoats, pants, shirts and shoes. Some are just a couple of decades, others go back to the 1950s.

There are also some interesting non-sanctioned items that DC Comics never approved. Many of them are foreign interpretations of Superman like "Supermagnifico," featuring a man who wears a similar costume but facially bears no resemblance to Superman.

Toys from Japan, Mexico and other places that feature a character that looks almost, but not quite, like Superman were in the boxes. Olszewski said it would be fun to put together a display of the knock-offs.

The Superman exhibit will be the crown jewel of the library's already massive comic book and graphic novel section. The library has a Siegel and Shuster Reading Room in honor of the Superman creators, who spent so much time at the library in the 1930s.

With the Superman statue promised for 2018, the 80th anniversary of the first appearance of Superman in "Action Comics" No. 1, Cleveland will look worthy of calling itself the birthplace of Superman.