Canadian classical scholarship and the Institute have had strong ties to Boeotia since the 1960s. First, John Fossey, then with Jacques Morin, followed by Duane Roller and now the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project have focused research and fieldwork on various topics related to this vast territory in central Greece. This past week John Fossey (retired from McGill University and now the Curator of Ancient Art at Montreal Museum of Arts) was in Athens. He must have read our minds, as he donated to the Institute the archives of his excavations at Kastron Khostion, ancient Khorsiai, which took place in 1980 and 1983. He gave as well all of his publications relating to his work in Boeotia. His thoughtful contributions to the Archives and to the Library strengthen our existing collections relating to Boeotian studies.
One of our projects for the 2011-2012 academic year is the acquisition of the archives of the past archaeological projects which carried out their fieldwork under the aegis of the Institute. Such archives, along with others such as the B/W negative collection of Greek and Roman architecture of Fred Winter, will enable researchers to delve into the basic documents on which publications are based.
This week I have not reviewed a new book from our Library. Rather I wish to comment of the generosity again of John Fossey for his gift of a small, but important, collection of books relating to Classics, Classical Archaeology and Archaeology. A small Institute such as ours, in existence for only 35 years, has great difficulty building its Library so that it can serve well the scholarly community. To meet this challenge, we have chosen a strategy of specializations in our purchases so that we can provide what is generally not available at other libraries. Fossey’s donation of older books, as well as Greek and Latin texts, helps us to fill the gaps in our basic collection. By such means our Library will grow over time and begin to take its place as one of the important libraries in Athens. We are waiting for your donation as well!
Cordially,
David Rupp
Director
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