APSIG newsletter no. 58: July 2005

Harold S. Williams Project

The National Library of Australia has begun an exciting new project to strengthen its already extensive western language holdings about Asia. It is being funded by a trust established by Harold S. Williams (1898-1987), distinguished Australian businessman, writer and collector who lived most of his adult life in Japan. Williams donated his large library of books, manuscripts, photographs and other items about Japan and the West to the national library. He set up the trust for the maintenance and further development of this collection.

The HSW project began in September 2004. It is being undertaken by Andrew Gosling, former chief librarian, Asian collections in collaboration with staff in Asian collections and technical services. To date, some 430 titles published between the mid-nineteenth and early twenty-first centuries have been selected.

Selections have been broadly based on the priorities of the HSW Collection. These include the role of foreigners in Japan; the history of interaction between Japan and the West; and writings by Western authors on Japanese topics.

Recent printed and online catalogues of leading Asian specialist booksellers in Australia, Japan, the UK and the USA have been checked against the library's catalogue for suitable titles. Professor Peter Kornicki's online bibliography of Japanese history up to 1912 has also been a useful source for selections. Some titles listed by booksellers were found to have been sold already, but in many cases it has been possible to acquire a copy through online services such as Abebooks or Amazon.

Andrew Gosling (please remove '.nospam' from address)