Summer 2001 - George A. Smathers Libraries - University of Florida

Libraries receive Chinese
treasury of classical writings
The Smathers Libraries have
received a gift of a 611-volume set of
a famous Chinese “treasury of classi -
cal writings,” the Sibu Beiyao, from
the family of the late Dr. John Knoblock,
head of the Dept. of Philosophy
and Religion at the University of
Miami for many years. The collection
is a much-needed addition to round
out the “collectanea” sets on pre-modern
Chinese history and literature.
Along with the Sibu Beiyao are other
valuable additions to the collections,
including out of print Harvard-
Yenching Sinological indexes. Dr.
Knoblock published The Annals of
Master Lu, a translation for Stanford
University Press. He also wrote a
translation and study of the complete
works of the ancient Chinese philoso -
pher Xunzi, published by Stanford in
1988. Dr. Knoblock’s brother, Phillip
Knoblock of Ocala, made the generous
contribution to our collections.
In memoriam:
Fleming Bennett
Fleming Bennett, the UF
Libraries Assistant Director for
Readers’ Services from 1969 to 1976,
died May 3, 2001. He was 90 years
old. He came to UF in 1964 as the
Agriculture Librarian for Hume
Library. Hume was a separate library
that served the needs of IFAS’
programs. In becoming the head of
Readers’ Services, he assumed
responsibility for Circulation,
Reference and the branch libraries,
which at the time included chemistry,
engineering, and physics as well as
the branches in existence today.
Those who knew him remem -
bered him as a gracious man, whose
hobbies were fine book binding and
book
restoration.
Page 6
Chapter One
In memory of Stanley West
Stanley West, Director of the
University of Florida Libraries from
1946-1966, a time of tremendous
growth and change both at UF and
in higher education nationally, died
April 5, 2001. He was 89 years old.
Sam Proctor, Distinguished Service
Professor Emeritus and official
historian of the University of
Florida, once said that “Stanley West
took direction of the libraries at a
watershed period in the history of
the University of Florida. Much
credit must go to him for helping in
a major way the University and the
library reach their goals.”
West was director during the
years that UF joined the Association
of Research Libraries and he focused
on strengthening the research collections.
He played an instrumental
role in establishing and building
some of the university’s most distinguished
special and area studies
collections. When research libraries
divided up responsibility for purchase
of scholarly material from
foreign countries, West accepted the
Caribbean for the University of
Florida and the libraries have
continued to build those collections
for more than 50 years. UF is now
recognized as having the best
Caribbean collection in the world.
Much that is strongest and most
scholarly about the libraries today
can be directly traced to West’s energy
and foresight. He himself cited
the institution of both the Latin
American and the Irish Literature
collections and the acquisition of the
Robbins papers (Margaret Drier
Robbins is remembered for her
leadership of the Women’s Trade
Union League) as the most satisfying
of his contributions.
Well-known and widely respect -
ed on campus, West served in many
campus-wide efforts. Perhaps his
most visible legacy to UF is Century
Tower. He developed the concept of
building the tower while involved in
the planning of the university’s
centennial celebration. After leaving
UF’s libraries, West went to the
University of Hawaii where he both
taught in the library school and
served as director of the library.
After ten years, he returned to
Gainesville, where he earned a law
degree and practiced law. West
maintained his ties with the library,
becoming a donor and offering his
expertise in helping to build the
Irish Literature collection.
In 1989 West established a
charitable gift annuity for the
“benefit and improvement of the
University of Florida Libraries.”
Dale Canelas, Director of UF
Libraries, has used his gift, along
with other funds, to establish the
Stanley L. West Irish Celtic endowment
fund.