by In honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Father Walter J. Ong, S. J., on November 30, Saint Louis University Libraries Special Collections announces the opening of the exhibit, Happy Birthday, Father Ong. Father Ong, who was a member of the Saint Louis University faculty for nearly fifty years, is considered the most outstanding scholar ever associated with the University.
The exhibit, curated by John Waide, University Archivist, is located on level two of Pius XII Memorial Library’s Anheuser Busch wing. It features numerous documents, photographs, and books from Special Collections’ Walter J. Ong Manuscript Collection. The exhibit will be on display during regular library hours through Friday, January 11, 2013.
The Archives & Manuscripts unit of Special Collections is the repository for the Walter J. Ong Manuscript Collection. This collection documents the thought and work of one of the most important intellectuals and scholars of the twentieth century. It includes Father Ong’s academic files, personal correspondence, class and lecture notes, research materials, and related items; housed with Rare Books is his personal library of over 1,600 volumes, some with significant annotation. The manuscript collection also includes press copy typescripts of some of Fr. Ong’s books, off-prints (both his and others), a number of lecture typescripts (some of which have never been published in any form), some source material, audio recordings, and nearly 200 slides taken by Walter Ong as he traveled through Europe. The bulk of the collection, consists of items donated to the University in August 2004 by the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus, as per Fr. Ong’s request. Also in the collection are unpublished articles and lectures; audio and video recordings of Fr. Ong; library cards from around the world; souvenirs from his trip to the 1929 Boy Scout World Jamboree; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; textbooks with his notes taken while a student; sketches and drawings; hundreds of photos and slides of Ong, family, friends, and places he visited; and personal items.
To learn more about the Ong collection, with access to a detailed finding guide and digitized materials, see http://libraries.slu.edu/collections/ong, or contact John Waide, University Archivist (977-3091, waide@slu.edu).
