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Notable acquisitions
As ever, the Library is most grateful to those who donate material that makes an important contribution to teaching, learning and research activities, especially that which would not otherwise be made available at UCL. Donors this year include organisations, such as Amnesty International, the Croatian Embassy, and Environmental Data Services. In addition, families and former colleagues of A J Ayer, Lord Bethell, Dame Mary Douglas, John Klier, and C A B Smith donated papers and volumes from their personal book collections. In addition, a bequest was received from the estate of Lorna Vincent Paulin, along with a further deposit from the Lewis Trust.
A J Ayer archive
The archive of Sir Alfred Jules Ayer, radical British philosopher and Professor of Philosophy at UCL 1910-1939, was presented in September 2007 by his biographer, Ben Rogers, on behalf of the family. "Freddy" Ayer, whose landmark work Language truth and logic was published in 1936, was also well known as a broadcaster, being a regular panellist on the Brains Trust, and campaigner for secularism, the Labour Party, and homosexual law reform. The archive comprises six boxes of primary and secondary documents and recordings relating to his life and work.
Lord Bethell papers
Selected papers relating largely to human rights in the Soviet Union were presented by the family of Lord Bethell.
Mary Douglas papers
10 boxes of papers were presented in November 2007 by the family of Dame Mary Douglas, who was instrumental in establishing Anthropology as a discipline at UCL, starting her career at UCL in 1951 and being promoted to a personal chair in 1970. In addition to her research output, Dame Mary also wrote for New Society and gave talks on the BBC Third Programme, and her papers include research working files for books, lectures and articles, along with correspondence, notebooks and personal papers.
John Klier
Further items were received from the personal library of the late Professor John Klier, who had been a regular donor to the Library over many years.
C A B Smith papers
Six boxes of the papers of C A B Smith, who started at UCL in 1946 and
was appointed Weldon Professor of Biometrics in 1964, were received in
December 2007.
The collection also includes copies of the output of 'Blanche Descartes'
(a pseudonym used on occasion by a number of mathematicians, including
Smith), along with papers relating to peace studies including articles
published in The Friend.
Environmental Data Services
The publishers of the ENDS Report, Environmental Data Services, donated the library of the publication to UCL Library in May 2008. Covering the period 1978-2005, the collection consists of a wide range of official publications and difficult to locate grey literature on environmental policy.
Lewis Trust
Moreh talmidin: the scholars instructor. An Hebrew grammar by Israel Lyons was received on loan in October 2007 from Howard Lewis. Published in 1735 by Cambridge University Press, this is a rare first edition, with only eight other copies recorded on the English Short Title Catalogue.
Paulin bequest
An edition of Cicero's De officiis printed in London in 1568 was bequeathed in December 2007 by Lorna Vincent Paulin, UCL alumna.
