The Lord Collection
The Lord Collection
Thanks to the generosity of their sons Nathan and Mark, together with the support of their families, the personal libraries of Albert Bates Lord and Mary Louise Lord have been donated to the Center for Studies in Oral Tradition and the University of Missouri-Columbia Libraries. This remarkable gift of books, articles, and material culture items will be acknowledged as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the CSOT and the journal Oral Tradition, which will include the 25th Lord and Parry Lecture on February 10, 2011.
The Lord Collection consists of approximately 1900 books and articles on a wealth of different disciplines, among them language, literature, art, history, archaeology, and religion. Among the fields represented are ancient and modern Greek, Latin, Slavic (especially South Slavic and Russian), medieval English and French, Old Irish, various traditions from Africa, Chinese, Albanian, Persian, Turkish, Finnish, Old Norse, comparative mythology, American and international folklore, and Hebrew, Christian, and Arabic religious traditions.
Approximately 100 of the items will be housed in Special Collections (401 Ellis Library), with the remainder available in the main library stacks. This configuration is consistent with the donors’ request that the contents of their parents’ personal libraries be as openly accessible as possible. All university faculty, staff, and students – along with visiting scholars – are welcome and invited to use these materials. A list of the contents of the Lord Collection, to be updated as necessary, is forthcoming.