The World's Columbian Exposition | Edward E. Ayer | Collectors and Collections, Private and Curatorial | Endowed Acquisition Funds | International Publication Exchange Development of the Library collections has benefited from the presence and generosity of sophisticated bibliographers and dedicated collectors among the Museum's research and other staff. Curatorial staff have regularly donated important works to the Library and have often directed their personal collections to the Library by bequest. The Museum's librarians have also seized every opportunity to acquire significant private collections by donation or purchase. Berthold Laufer (1874-1934), curator of Asian Anthropology from 1908 to 1934, was a pioneer in the study of Asian cultures. Polymath and polyglot, his interests seemed unbounded and his linguistic skills unequaled. His extensive book collections came to the Library by bequest and enriched many areas of the Library's holdings. His collection of over 7,000 volumes in Chinese includes imprints from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries, and includes such rarities as a copy of the official Ming Dynasty gazetteer published in 1461. Laufer's extensive working collections in Western languages include thousands of scarce imprints and ephemeral publications, and are especially rich in east European materials. Continue