William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections
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| Country | Canada |
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| Type | Academic |
| Location | Mills Memorial Library, Hamilton, Ontario |
| Branch of | McMaster University Library |
| Website | http://library.mcmaster.ca/archives/ |
The William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections is the principal repository for rare books, archives, maps and historical material at McMaster University. Developed to support teaching, research and scholarship, its holdings reflect fonds and collections pertaining to Canadian literature, politics, popular culture and business history, in addition to war and peace in the 20th century with an emphasis on the Holocaust and Resistance. It also holds a collection of eighteenth century books and journals, and is home to the Bertrand Russell Archives. Part of the McMaster University Library system, the Division of Archives and Research Collections is located in Mills Memorial Library.
The Division of Archives and Research Collections is named after William Ready who served as University Librarian from 1966 until his retirement in 1979.
William Bernard Ready (pronounced Reedy) was born on September 16, 1914 in Cardiff, Wales to James Ready and Nora Hart. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wales in 1937, a Master of Arts from the University of Manitoba in 1949 and a Master of Library Science from the University of Western Ontario in 1970, in addition to several diplomas related to archives and library administration. Ready married Bessie Dyer (1917-2007) on April 25, 1945 and together they had six children.
Ready considered himself a "working librarian" and rejected the academic side of librarianship in favour of hands-on work and collection development He was known for his enterprising and cunning approach to building and managing archives and research collections. Having read and enjoyed The Hobbit, Ready asked a London-based book dealer to contact J. R. R. Tolkien about acquiring his works for Marquette University. Concerned about his retirement, Tolkien initially agreed to sell a selection of manuscripts. Further negotiation lead to Marquette's acquisition of the manuscripts for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, among others, amounting to more than 11,000 pages. During the same period Ready also secured the personal papers of social activist Dorothy Day. As University Librarian at McMaster played an instrumental role in securing numerous high-profile collections, most notably the archives of philosopher and political activist Bertrand Russell.
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