FaD J 994 Volume vm, Number 3 Nota Bene. News from the Yale Lit~rm~;-;~ ~ A Note of Greetillg from lhe New tweney years old, but I am committed to ensurin g that University Librarian the benefits of computers and networked communica­ tion are fu ll y available to the Ya le communi ty. Libraries For years I have been reading Nota Bene- first as coll ec­ have been leaders in the adoption of new technologies, tion officer at Northwestern and more recenrl)' as a and there is a strong base on which to buil d at Yale. library director at Johns Hopkins. j usr imaginc my plea­ Ba lancing and advancin g the cul tures of both the sure in comi ng to Yalc, ro be stcv,rard to the magni fi cent printed and the electronic word make this a challenging coll ec tions about wh ich I had been reading and with time to be a librarian and a wonderfu l time to be at \v hich I worked, just once, some twenty-fiv e yea rs ago. Ya le. I look forwa rd to meeting as many readers of Nota T here simply isn'r a better place ro be a librarian rhan Bene as possible. Because rhat wi ll take some time, I at Ya le ! would lik e everyone who reads this newsletter to know In its very shield, Yale declares itself (Q be a universiry how glad I am to be at Ya le as director of its world­ of the open book. The joc-year rradirion of the primed class li braries. I sllcceed many disti nguished direcrors. book is represented here in coll ec rions of brearhraking In the tradition rhey have created, I hope to se rve yo u, scope and depth. I am commirted to keeping our collec­ the uni ve rsiry, and our libraries well . ti ons strong, to enhancing their util ity for teaching and - Scott BeJlnett, Universit)1 Librarian research, and to preserv ing them so they will remain available to a ll who will , in the futu re, call upon the primed word to bu ild understanding and to d iscover wi sdom . ~ Beil1 eci<e Acquires Aci1royd Papers At the same ti me, the electronic word is rra nsfor ming The Bein ec ke Ra re Book and Manuscript Library is sc holarship. This vibrant new culture is perhaps only pleased to announce th e recent addition of Peter Ack­ royd's papers to irs growing holdings of modern Briti sh literary archi ves. Recognized as one of today's most bril­ liant chroniclers of British social and intell ecruallife, Ackroyd is the author o f severa l innovative novels and a number of literary biographies, including his widely acclaimed li fe of D ickens. Born in London in 1949 and educated at Clare Col­ lege, Cambridge, Ackro)ld served as literary editor and then managing editor o f the weekly magazine The Spec­ tator, where he establis hed a reputation as a fier y critic. Begi nning in 1971, he spent two years at Ya le as a Mell on Fell ow. Mr. Ackroyd's novels include The Great Fire of London (1981), The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983), the award-winn ing Hawksmoor (1984), Chatter/on (1987), First Light. (1989), English Music (1991), and most recen tl y The HOllse of Doctor Dee (1993). He has also wri tten biographies of Ezra Pound, Charles Dickens, and T. S. El iot, ilnd is currently work­ ing on a biographica l study o f Wi lli am Blake. The archive acquired by the Bcinec ke Library comprises a ll of Pe ter Ackroyd's extant papers, inc lud ing resea rch nares, dra fts of books and poems, an unpubli shed televi­ sion drama, essars, lec tures, reviews, and correspon­ SCO tt Bennen, Uni\'ersirr Librarian. dence. - c:\ S Swvenson, Ro ben .Louis Srevenson's American wife and literary coll abo rator. Dr~lwn principally from the collec­ tio n of Edwin J. Bein ecke, the exhi bition incl udes fami ly leuers, fare seria lized printings of stories a nd novels by Srevenson, first editions o f his works, Illanuscriprs, and o ri gi nal photographs. Among these are pictures of daily life at Stevenson's estate Vai lima in Samoa, where he spent the last five years of his life. A hi gh point of the Beill ecke exhibition is a 24-page working dra ft of Th e Stml/ge Case of 01: Jekyll a/ld Mr. I~yde, written ill the fa ll of 1885 . T he fir st draft of the story has been lost (one legend says that Stevenson burned it); the Beinecke manll script is a second, interme­ diate version. An ill ustrated catalog of the exhibition, wrinen by Vin cent Giraud, curator of modern books and manuscripts at the Beinecke Library, is available. Edwin 1- Bei necke became interested in Stevenson in the late J920S. By .1939, he had accumulated the worl d's largest coll ection of first and early editions, books from [,OROTHY FIIRM AN Stevenson's library, origi na l artwork, scrapbooks, pho­ tographs, memorabilia, manuscripts, and autograph let­ ters by, to, and about Stevenson. Througho ut th e 1940s, ma jo r additio ns were made to thi s a lrea dy impressive Bookplare of thc Srcvcnson Soc ict)' of Sar~lIIac coll ection, in cluding the St. lues, Ca triona, and Jekyll Lak e, NY, design cd by Will Low in 19 18. From and Hyde manuscripts. By 1950 the remainder of rh e thc Bookpbre Collecrion. coll ection of Stevenson's stepda ughter, Mrs. Sa lisbury ~ Stevenson Centenary at Ya le Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Treasllre Islalld, and Kid­ /lapped a re a few of rh e works rhar have made Roberr Lo ui s Stevenson one of the most widely read amhors of <111 timc. This fall Yale marks the cenrenaf}' of Stevcn­ son's death w ith a n international conference, a Ilew edi­ ti on of hi s letters, and a major exhibiti o n on his li fe and works at rhe Be inecke Rare Book and M.anuscript Library. O n October 14th and 15th the Beinec ke Library joined the W hirney Humanities Center in sponsoring an international Stevenson conference. Speakers incl uded sc hola rs from Scotl and, Ireland, Engla nd, Canada, and the United States . In additio n, the Yale University Press ha s issli ed the first four volumes of an eig ht-volume edi­ ti on of Stevenson's complete lerters. This edition wi ll include nearly 3 ,000 letters, many of them from rh e Bei­ necke collectio n, the world's largest gathering o f Steven­ son's books and manuscri pts. Bronze Illc(bll ion of Robert Lo uis Ste ..·enson by AugustuS Saint· The Steve nson exhibition at the Reinecke Library Gaudcns, on disp b }' in Ihc Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripr opened w ith a lecture by Alexandra Lapierre on Fa nny Libra ry. Fi eld (I so bel Stro ng) , and over a hu ndred letters to Sir Sidney Colvin had also bee n add ed. E. J. Beinecke presenred his Stevenson coll ecti o n to Ya le in Ivl arch 1"95 I . The six volumes of George L. !vlc­ Kay's catalog, A SteveNSOl1 Library: Catalogue ol a Col­ lectioJl of Wlritillgs by and about Robert LOllis Steven­ son, Formed by Edwin }. Beinecke, were pub li shed over the next decade. E.,1. Beinecke continued to enrich his Stevenson collectio n after its transfer to Ya le, a nd this unparall eled reso urce fo r Stevenson scho larshi p contin­ ues to grow through gifts and by purchase, tha nks to rh e funds he established. -CAS ~ The Eli Express In September, the Yale Uni ve rsity Library bega n ro offer a new time-sa ving se rvi ce for its users. Dubbed " Eli Ex press," rhe serv ice makes it possible fo r Libra ry lIsers [0 renew and recall books belonging to many o f the Ya le libraries at several o ther pa rticipating li brarics. Books ma)' be returned to (he closest Yale li bra ry, w itho ur regard to the collecti o n in which it belo ngs. Readers mil)' request books fro m panicipating li brari es for delivery ro One of Sterling ;vlclllorial Library'S ornatc rowers. any o f the other libra ri es. The goal o f this service is to have the book avail ab le fo r pickup withi n 48 hours. Many of the Ya le Li brary collections will rhu s be accessible over a single circulation desk. T he in d ividual faculty, sta ff mcmber, or sruclem may determ ine the most ~ A J~el1ovation Update convenient locati o n for hi s o r her library use. T he fi rst phase of [he renovatio n o f the Sterli ng J\1emoria l Libraries pa rri cipating in this service are: C ross Cam­ Library is scheduled to begin next summer and continue pus, Divin ity, Drama , En gineering and Applied Sc iences, until the end o f August [997. T he library w ill remain open Forestry, Geology, Kl ine Science, M ed ical , ?vtudd, lvlusic, to readers througho ut the renovatio n, w hi ch w ill focus pri­ Socia l Sciences, and Sterl ing Memo rial Libra ry.