Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I wish you could see how excited and how glad the faculty and students at Wuhan are over all those books which you have so generously donated to them. The books have flowed in from everywhere and made their way (sooner or later) to Wuhan. Some of you gave a few books; some of you gave a lot of books. But very many people contributed to what is now the nucleus of an excellent small library in Western philosophy and theology at Wuhan. Books are very expensive in China, and so this small beginning of a library, donated by strangers from so far away, has created something of a stir in the community. The local media has run more than one story on it, and the University itself has provided new accommodations for the whole Philosophy Department together with a beautiful new room for the library. The Chinese will catalogue these books in the coming months, and they will try to put the catalogue on-line, so that scholars throughout China will be aware of this resource at Wuhan. Little as our donated library is, faculty at Wuhan University tell me that it is one of the largest collections of such materials in China.

I would be so glad if you would not forget this burgeoning library in the coming year. By comparison with what we take for granted in our libraries, it is so small. As you find yourself in possession of extra books, or as you find yourself willing to share books which are not extra for you, if you mail them to me, I will get them to Wuhan. My address is

Eleonore Stump

Department of Philosophy

Saint Louis University

St.Louis, MO 63103

Or if you want to do so, you can send the books directly to Wuhan yourself. The address in Wuhan is this:

Professor Hao Changchi

Center for Christianity and Western Religious Culture

Philosophy College of Wuhan University

Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072

CHINA

For my part, I am very grateful to each of you who has contributed to the library as it now is in Wuhan. This library is a living thing, which will do good in China long after much else that we do has fallen into dust. This is our library, as well as Wuhan’s.

With much thanks,

Eleonore Stump