In the vast wealth of English literature, William Shakespeare’s character Prospero and his library most vividly symbolize how an individual is shaped by the books which she or he has collected and studied. We often think we know a person by the books which they own and in studying a person’s life, particularly if that person has made a significant contribution to our country’s culture, we wish to know what books influenced the development of that scholar, writer, scientist, artist, etc.

Public institutions are sometimes fortunate to house complete libraries of a few individuals in order to document to some extent this portion of the cultural fabric of Canada. The Dr. George F.G. Stanley Book Collection is available for research at the University of Calgary Library. It demonstrates in its breadth and depth the books which he studied as well as the many books which he produced.

We are fortunate to have had the guidance of Dr. Donald B. Smith, Department of History, University of Calgary whose friendship with Dr. George F.G. and Mrs. Ruth Stanley has made this donation possible. The book collection is enhanced by Mrs. Stanley’s donation of a bronze bust of Dr. Stanley created by the distinguished Canadian sculptor Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook, RCA.