The Archives & Special Collections: Collections of Special Interest, 2004-2005

In December, Tony Cucchiara, Marianne LaBatto, and Slava Polishchuk visited Mrs. Hess's home to bring back to the Library the 150 or so books remaining in President Hess's collection: these are especially fragile and valuable titles that Mrs. Hess was not ready to relinquish at the time of her husband's death. A deed of gift has been signed; appraiser Alex J. Rosenberg valued the books at $43,515. Included is the rare Lexicon Aethiopica Latinum (1599) and an Ethiopian religious manuscript in a traveling leather pouch which was carried by a priest on travels through the Abyssinian countryside.

Joseph Caruso, Columbia University's African Studies librarian, was retained to evaluate the entire collection. In the spring, he submitted his report, an assessment of strengths, with detailed recommendations for items we might purchase to fill in gaps in this important collection. In the fall we will hold a reception to unveil a plaque commemorating the Hess Collection, President and Mrs. Hess's gift to the Library.

We began processing the Dershowitz papers in January 2005, using as seed money a $10,000 grant from the Rich Foundation for Education, Culture, and Welfare. A team of five students are doing the work; until funds were depleted, they were supervised by former Preminger intern Dorothea Coiffe. By year's end, the students will have worked 2,127 hours at a cost of $18,309, using upwards of 750 archival storage boxes plus other Perma-Life supplies to re-house and preserve the Dershowitz materials. To date, these supplies have cost approximately $5,500.

Although much has been accomplished, we estimate another 12 to 18 months will be needed to complete processing and produce a finding aid and a Web site that will provide access to the collection for an international community of legal scholars, writers and researchers. Unfortunately, the budgetary forecast for next year is weak, and staff are deeply concerned that the processing will take considerably longer than the 18 months envisioned. Processing priorities include the Video and Audio Tape Series, Manuscripts Series, Harvard Law School Teaching Career Series, and General Correspondence Series.

In October Anthony Cucchiara and Philip Napoli spent a day in Cambridge with Professor Dershowitz; during that visit, much more of the oral history was completed.