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...editions translations of Kierkegaard's works, extensive secondary literature on Kierkegaard, and numerous works by related thinkers who influenced or were influenced by Kierkegaard. The core holdings of the library were donated to St. Olaf in 1976 by Howard and Edna Hong, who arc known to Kierkegaard scholars around the world for their English translations of Kierkegaard's writings.
Over a remarkable period of thirty-three years, the Hongs edited and translated the seven-volume Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers (Indiana) and the twenty-six-volume Kierkegaard's Writings (Princeton). (1) Both Hongs are alumni of St. Olaf College. Howard Hong served on the faculty at St. Olaf for forty years before retiring in 1978. Edna Hong, in addition to the Kierkegaard translations, published religious works, poetry, historical fiction, and children's stories. The Hongs' gift of their personal library was motivated, as was their translation work, by a desire to make Kierkegaard more accessible to readers. Thanks to the Hongs and to others who shared their vision, Kierkegaard has been a central figure at St. Olaf for decades.
The Hong Kierkegaard Library originated as the working collection of two scholar-translators, but over time it evolved into a special collection library dedicated to acquiring, preserving, and providing access to materials about Kierkegaard. Along the way, the library became something more than a collection of books and manuscripts. As the Hongs intended, it became a study and publication center and a gathering place for Kierkegaard researchers. Today, Kierkegaard scholars from around the world travel to St. Olaf to attend conferences and to use the library's collections. Reflecting upon the value of the library as a research collection and as a place for scholars to meet and exchange ideas, Kierkegaard scholar Bruce Kirmmse noted: "Both [the collection and library programs] are absolutely invaluable, and they really put St. Olaf on the world map" (as quoted in Hequet 43).
This article provides a brief history of the Hong Kierkegaard Library, describes its collections, and examines the programs that have transformed the library into a global research center.
LIBRARY HISTORY: KIERKEGAARD AND ST. OLAF COLLEGE
According to the Howard Hongs, the origins of the Kierkegaard Library can be traced back to a day in 1938 when he skipped lunch in order to browse the shelves of a Copenhagen antikvariat [antiquarian bookstore]. Hong, who had been hired the previous year to teach English and philosophy at St. Olaf, had been awarded a Fulbright grant to study Kierkegaard in Denmark. On this day, he spotted a book by Kierkegaard and purchased it. Before long, Hong was skipping lunch regularly and using the money he saved to buy more books about Kierkegaard for his collection (Hequet 43). Over the years, Hong would return to Copenhagen numerous times as he pursued his research interest in Kierkegaard.
The Hongs' first translation of Kierkegaard was simply an exercise in learning Danish. Not satisfied with the progress they were making with their Danish language tutor, the Hongs pedaled off on their bicycles to Copenhagen's Kongelige Bibliotek [Royal Library] where they sat down with Kierkegaard's texts and a Danish-English dictionary and simply "plunged in" (as quoted in Elbrond-Bek 83). Later, they came to view their translation projects as a way of introducing Kierkegaard to a wider, English-speaking audience. Howard Hong's research with Kierkegaard's journals and papers had convinced him that Kierke-gaard scholarship was developing without exposure to key texts. Even more important, the Hongs believed that Kierkegaard's philosophical anthropology--his understanding of what it means to be, or to become, a human being--needed to be communicated to modern readers (Cynthia Lund Interview 10 May 2006).
Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers was the Hongs' first major translation project. Kierkegaard (1813-1855) lived during Denmark's Guldalder [Golden Age], a period of cultural flowering that produced many gifted thinkers, artists, and religious leaders. A number of these individuals appear in Kierkegaard's journals, as do other intellectual and cultural figures from the Continent. As Hong worked to track down these references, he began to look for editions of works owned by Kierkegaard. (2) These primary sources became a kind of working collection for the translation project. According to Edna Hong, the replication of Kierkegaard's personal library was not something that was planned; rather, the translation and Howard Hong's bibliophilic proclivities meant that the collection began to "take on its own life" (as quoted in Elbrond-Bek 96).
By 1976, the number of volumes amassed by the Hongs were "spilling offshelves and piling up under tables at the Hong home" (Hequet 43). Recognizing the value of this collection and desiring to make it available to others, the Hongs made a formal gift of their library to St. Olaf College. The gift was accompanied by a legal agreement in which St. Olaf agreed to build and maintain the collection. In addition, the college made a commitment to continue to have represented on the faculty a scholar with subject expertise in Kierkegaard.
In 1978, Howard Hong retired from teaching, but he continued to be actively involved in translation work. Indeed, he and Edna Hong were just beginning work on the monumental twenty-six-volume Kierkegaard's Writings. At that time, the Kierkegaard Library and translation staff offices were located on the top floor of St. Olaf's Holland Hall, which was also home to the Philosophy Department. According to the terms of the gift agreement, the college established the Kierkegaard Library as an independent entity, separate from other libraries on campus. In its early years, it remained closely tied to the Philosophy Department and functioned mainly as a tool for the translation project. During these years, Howard continued to acquire books for the library, methodically perusing book catalogs that arrived by the dozens from little bookstores all over Denmark, Germany, and other placed in Europe. As Cynthia Lund, Special Collections Librarian at the Kierkegaard Library, recalls: "Collection building is an art and Howard [Hong] is very gifted at it.... He would go through these catalogs methodically. He spent hours doing that.... He was also in league with specialized book auctioneers.... There were years and years of doing that. That's how these treasures got here" (Personal Interview 11 May 2006).
Fortunately for the future of Kierkegaard studies, a handful of faculty members in the St. Olaf Philosophy Department, as well as others serving on the Kierkegaard Library Committee, recognized the importance of the collection and resolved to make the world aware of its existence. The group lobbied to bring a Kierkegaard scholar to St. Olaf--a scholar and teacher whose presence would help to raise awareness about the library. The timing of this campaign was fortunate, as St. Olaf was then growing from a local, Norwegian-Lutheran institution to a nationally recognized liberal arts college. In 1986, C. Stephen Evans was hired as the library's first curator. (3)
During his...
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