Thursday, January 17, 2008

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

In what I think can only be considered a remarkable testament to the power of collaboration and the strength of the LibraryThing community, barely a day after Tim noted Karen Schneider's suggestion that we add some famous womens' libraries to our collection of important libraries, several are well underway and a number of other potential additions have been found.

- Marie Antoinette's library (as found here) is being entered as I type; she and I already share two books (La Fontaine's Fables and Homer's Iliad).

- This morning I started on the library of Isabella Stewart Gardner (as found here), the well-known Boston socialite, art collector and philanthropist. She's got some amazing books (a first edition of the Hypnerotomachia poliphili!?), and since she's a close neighbor, I thought I'd have a go at her collection.

- The Leonard and Virginia Woolf Collection at Washington State University - we're working to resolve some technical issues but hope to get this one imported into LT fairly easily.

Other potentials include the library of Susan B. Anthony (at the Library of Congress, as Rachel very helpfully discovered and posted in comments yesterday), Madame de Pompadour, Mary Queen of Scots (unfortunately this catalogue may not be bibliographical enough), Catherine de Medici, Elizabeth Craigie, and Frances Currer (one of the most notable English female bibliophiles).

Keep them coming!