Theme 4: Library Collections
Gifts to the Collections, 2003-2004


"With the opening of the new Library, it seems that everyone wants to give us something--would-be donors appear to have been saving titles since we closed the old Library and moved into temporary quarters. The book sale room is hopping and now it is in subject order." Susan Vaughn, Associate Librarian for Collection Development

The most notable gift this year was that from the Anthropology Department. With new faculty coming onboard, they needed the space previously devoted to a departmental collection. To date, hundreds of books have been received, weeded, and searched. Titles that were not needed we sent to Hunter which also specializes in anthropology. We also received a large collection from the Speech Department, as well as the collections of Professors Egon Mayer, chair of Sociology who died unexpectedly, and Professor Nancy Black of English.

Our perennial benefactor retired professor of English Leonard Ashley gave us about $15,000 worth of pristine new titles. His generosity and popularity as a reviewer greatly enhance the collections in English literature and history.

  • The Main Library
    Professor Leonard Ashley (English) A significant collection of circa 439 new titles with a purchase value of $15,812.

    Professor Alberto Blasi (Modern Languages & Literatures) 101 books in the area of Spanish literature.

    Mr. Candido Bonilla 98 books.

    Professor Renee Feinberg (Brooklyn College Library, retired) 35 books.

    Mr. David Fleischmann A CD-ROM and 610 books, including a number of new titles.

    Lisa and Carey Franco 57 books.

    Professor Barbara Gerber (English) Approximately 250 books, including In Conflict No Longer, by Irene Taviss Thomson.

    Professor David Goldberg (Chemistry) Britannica Encyclopedia, 1902.

    Professor Janet Grayson (English, Keene State College) New biography of Robert Hugh Benson, Life and Works, and Jessie L. Weston's The Romance of Perlesvaus.

    President Christoph M. Kimmich 44 books in the area of history.

    Professor Jerome Krase (Sociology) 87 books and periodicals in the area of sociology.

    Ms Sabina Kurbanova 22 books.

    Dr. Aaron Lichtenstein 35 volumes of the AJS Review.

    Carole Livingston (English) 500 books.

    Ms Laura Maltz (Brooklyn College Library) 3 books.

    President Mario Mandina (NLA Foundation) Robert C. Cannada's book, America's Rule of Law.

    Professor David K. Meagher (Health and Nutrition Sciences) Glennys Howarth and Oliver Leaman's book, The Encyclopedia of Death and Dying.

    Professor Jennifer Monaghan (English) 14 volumes of the 21 volume set, Early Records of the Town of Providence.

    Professor Edward Paolella (English) Edward Paolella, a well-respected bibliophile and recently retired instructor in the English Department, donated his valuable and extensive personal book collection to the Library. The collection is vast and will continue to make a significant contribution both to the Brooklyn College Library and to the other CUNY units. This year, we received 6,319 volumes. Furthermore, the Paollela Collection is now fully cataloged (9,254 titles).

    Professor Thomas L. Parkinson A book, Through Mem'ry Haze, on behalf of William Beinecke.

    Mr. John Peck 17 video programs.

    Ms Jane Pritz 74 journals in the area of education.

    Dr. Mohammed Abul Quasem His book, The Bangladesh: a Land of Beautiful Traditions & Culture.

    Ms Marina Ramos 5 books.

    Ms Judith Rieger (Brooklyn College) 22 books in the area of accounting.

    Mr. Alex Rudshteyn (Brooklyn College Library) 18 books.

    Dr. Howard Spivak (Brooklyn College Library) 407 books.

  • The Music Library

    Leon Hodara Several hundred long-playing jazz records from the collection Mr. Hodara, former President of the Duke Ellington Society.

    Joan Brinton Over two hundred compact discs, many of them never played, from the family of the late Joan Brinton, opera fan and avant-garde music afficionado. Some exceedingly rare live opera performance as well as commercial releases are included in this gift.

  • Special Collections Dr. Barbara Leslie Gerber Dr. Gerber donated a finely printed 19th century edition of Dante's Inferno and Ateliere Populaire, containing text and posters of the 1968 student and worker uprising in Paris. As in the past, we are honored that Dr. Gerber has chosen to donate such important volumes to the Library.

    Alan M. Dershowitz 720 boxes containing manuscripts, correspondence, audio and video tapes related to Professor Dershowitz's legal and teaching career. A preliminary inventory of the boxes has been made and processing costs are estimated at $126,000. A proposal soliciting funds for the processing of this vast but historically important collection will be sent to friends and colleagues of Alan Dershowitz.

    Economics Department 12 boxes of masters theses from 1940 to the present.

    Charles Gamaliy A model of the USS Brooklyn, postcards from the ship, and a photograph.

    Weeksville Historical Society 2 cubic feet of material relating to the Weeksville Historical Society and this historic African American Community in Brooklyn. This collection was donated to Special Collections during a March 15, 2004 ceremony honoring Dr. Joan Maynard.

    Pamela Ween Brumberg Collection A collection of New York City theater programs.