College library rankings

kyledavid80
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:52:55 +0000

But if you want to see primary source material (manuscripts, correspondence, etc.) of some of the greatest authors, playrights, historical figures, photographers, etc. in one place, you’re just not going to find it at Harvard or Yale.



I highly doubt that Harvard and Yale are going to be lacking in that area. Sure, UT may have more of that, but I’m sure I’d find plenty of it at Harvard and Yale as well (being two of the oldest universities + two largest university libraries + huge endowments to purchase rare collections).



I don’t see why it has to be so shocking that a public university can have a greater library than Harvard or Yale.



I’m not saying it’s “shocking.” I just don’t think that rare copies of texts and such are all I want in a library. I’ve always thought of them as secondary in a great library. I want a library to have great breadth and depth, which Harvard’s and Yale’s libraries have–as does UT’s, but the former to a greater degree. To be frank, why do I care about the original writings of some author I’ve never heard of, and whose work I’m probably not going to read? And even if I did care, what use is it to me? I can “ooh” and “aah” at the rare editions, but they’re already in print elsewhere.

This isn’t an annoyance at UT specifically. I’ve never been wide-eyed over rare texts. IMO, those amazing collections that make UT’s library one of the greatest in the world draw me no more than would a museum.