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President's Message: July - Aug. 2006

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“Mr. Huntington, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Bern Dibner”

I cannot, of course, make such an introduction; but I wish I could, for it would certainly have been to the pleasure of both men. Henry E. Huntington built his remarkable library primarily by buying the libraries of other collectors or families. These libraries have been kept intact at The Huntington as permanent memorials to their creators. Bern Dibner pioneered the development of the field of the history of science and created the Burndy Library that is now coming to The Huntington. Mr. Huntington would have been excited and honored by the gift. I hope that Mr. Dibner would have been pleased, too.

In 1964, the Burndy Library was built in Norwalk, Connecticut, by Bern Dibner to house his ever-expanding collection of books, instruments, manuscripts, incunabula, art work, and prints in the history of science. It is recognized as one of the premier libraries in the field of the history of science nationally and internationally. In 1976, as a gesture of his appreciation for his adopted country, Bern Dibner gave a select collection of 20,000 volumes, including 320 incunables (books published before 1501), from the Burndy Library to the Smithsonian to establish the Dibner Library in the History of Science there. Bern died in 1988 and his son, David, assumed leadership of a quest to promote the history of science that had become a family passion.

In 1992, David Dibner and his wife Frances decided to house the Burndy Library collection at MIT in order to make it more accessible to scholars. The family also funded The Dibner Institute, which became the premier research institute for the field of the history of science. The Burndy continued to grow and now totals approximately 67,000 volumes including 25,000 rare books, and 69 incunables.

In 2005, the Dibners looked for a permanent home for the Burndy Library and chose to donate it to The Huntington. The gift is the single largest addition to the library collection since Mr. Huntington created the institution. The family has also generously agreed to endow five new staff positions to manage the Burndy collection and to fund a new fellowship program in the history of science as well as to fund conferences and library collection development. Through the generosity of the Dibners and the vision of Bern Dibner, The Huntington now becomes one of the premier research centers for the history of science, benefitting scholars around the world.

The negotiations between the Dibners and The Huntington that led to this gift have been exciting and fun. Both parties early on recognized that there were many shared values. David Dibner initiated our conversations and carried them forward with gentlemanly enthusiasm and wisdom. The one great sadness of this adventure was that as the two parties reached agreement, David Dibner unexpectedly passed away. More than anyone else, he had the vision and determination to bring this agreement to fruition. As we celebrate this wonderful gift, we also mourn the loss of David Dibner and the leadership that he brought to The Huntington.

Steve Koblik, President