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In 1987, Stanford Libraries acquired a major collection of materials by, and about, Dante Alighieri. Among these materials were nine 15th-century editions of his Comedia (more familiarly, the Divine Comedy) - editions which are constant highlights in the teaching and learning programs in Special Collections and, because of the familiarity of the text to many students and visitors, in regular use by researchers.

The Brown, Burlingame and Hinman family archives has been processed and is open for research. The collection was donated to Stanford by Barry Hinman, who began his career at Stanford Libraries in 1980 and retired in July 2007 from the Department of Special Collections and University Archives as Special Collections Librarian for Cataloging Emeritus. Barry was a valued member of Special Collections staff.

John Mustain (left) and Peter Whidden (right) show off a treasure from the Rare Books Collection

 

“Peter’s work is exceptional”

-- Memo from Linda Long in 1994

Visitors to the basement of Green Library could easily overlook a series of small, blue arrows on the floor. They once directed colleagues toward a service elevator during a major move of materials from Green Library to the Stanford Auxiliary Library. They are the subtle reminders of the often unseen work that happens in an institution like ours: the thinking, logistics, measuring, planning, and communication that keeps things humming along smoothly and of which patrons and colleagues might not even be aware. While our colleague, Peter Holt Whidden, Rare Book Specialist in Special Collections, was not responsible for those particular arrows, he has left many similar signposts throughout the library and Special Collections when he retires on Aug. 31, 2021 after 31 years of service to Stanford Libraries.