Library Stuff

“Anne Jarvis, who has been university librarian at the University of Cambridge since 2009, will become the University librarian at Princeton effective Oct. 1.”Anne Jarvis is one of the world’s premier librarians,” Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber said. “Her proven track record of exceptional service, technological innovation and responsive management at Cambridge makes her an ideal leader for Princeton’s library system.” (via Princeton University)

“French philosopher Jacques Derrida did not just glance at words on a page when reading. He covered the pages with scribbled notes and cross-references, inserting other handwritten materials and incorporating what he read into what he wrote. Princeton University’s Firestone Library has acquired Derrida’s personal collection of about 13,800 published books and other materials, school officials announced Wednesday. As they are processed, the pieces will be made available to scholars through the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in the library.” (via NJ.com)

“A Princeton University alum has bequeathed to the school his collection of 2,500 rare books worth an estimated worth of $300 million – the largest single donation in the school’s history, officials said. William H. Scheide, a 1936 graduate, died in November. He was 100 years old. The Scheide Library, housed in the university’s Firestone Library and available to students since 1959, contains the 1455 Gutenberg Bible, the original printing of the Declaration of Independence, Shakespeare’s first, second, third and fourth folios and an 1856 autographed speech by Abraham Lincoln, among others, according to a university release.” (via NJ.com)

“The Einstein Papers Project, the decades-long effort to compile and preserve the scientist’s professional work and personal writings, is today opening to the public as a free searchable database containing thousands of documents. The launch of the Digital Einstein Papers includes more than 5,000 documents that span the first 44 years of Albert Einstein’s life. As the organizations collaborating on the project — the California Institute of Technology (the project’s home), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (which houses the Albert Einstein Archives) and Princeton University Press — work to sort through tens of thousands of articles and letters, the website will grow to one day feature what the publisher said may be the first free digital collection of a prominent scientist’s complete works.” (via insidehighered)

“The papers of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison are now part of the permanent library collection of Princeton University. Princeton made the announcement Friday, shortly before the 83-year-old Morrison took part in a forum at the school where she served on the faculty for 17 years.” (via AP)