A Houghton Library Chronicle, 1942-1992

Harvard's home for rare books and manuscripts opened in 1942, and thanks to the energy of a small group of librarians and the creativity and generosity of its benefactor, Arthur Houghton, it quickly emerged as a center of inquiry and memory without equal. This 1992 volume, compiled by senior Houghton librarians, blends documentary with oral history to look back on the library's origins, the growth of its collections, and the activities of the staff who made it a home for precious books and original scholarship.

Harvard's home for rare books and manuscripts opened in 1942, and thanks to the energy of a small group of librarians and the creativity and generosity of its benefactor, Arthur Houghton, it quickly emerged as a center of inquiry and memory without equal. This 1992 volume, compiled by senior Houghton librarians, blends documentary with oral history to look back on the library's origins, the growth of its collections, and the activities of the staff who made it a home for precious books and original scholarship.

Hugh Amory was Senior Cataloguer at the Houghton Library of the Harvard College Library.

Elizabeth A. Falsey is Reader Services Librarian at Houghton Library of the Harvard College Library.

Nancy Finlay is former Assistant Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts at Houghton Library of the Harvard College Library.