Hong Kierkegaard Library
For over thirty years, the Library has devoted itself to developing an elite research center in which scholars and students can study and exchange ideas. In 1976 – 1977, Howard and Edna Hong gifted their private library to St. Olaf College under the agreement that it would function as a scholarship center for people interested in Kierkegaard. Since then, the Library has grown into one of the world’s largest Kierkegaard collections, and widened its outreach as a center for publication and research. The collection currently contains over 20,000 book volumes, periodical publications, archival documents, and multimedia materials.
The Kierkegaard Library facilitates international scholarship and community via Visiting Scholars, Summer Fellows, and Young Scholars programs, as well as an annual Danish Kierkegaard Course. Furthermore, every several years, St. Olaf College and the Hong Kierkegaard Library host the International Kierkegaard Conference, a multi-day symposium revolving around Kierkegaard studies.
None of the Library’s rich history of scholarship and growth could exist without the many benefactors who, following the Hong’s original gift, have generously donated to the Library’s collection and mission. Since the beginning, the Library has relied on people who share the Hong’s goal of expanding Kierkegaard study and community and wish to further this goal by giving anything from money to books. Financial philanthropy enables the Library to continue its scholarship outreach – hosting international scholars, holding academic conferences, and establishing programs and stipends for St. Olaf students interested in Kierkegaard. Donations of books, publications, and other materials perpetuate and broaden the Library’s internationally renowned selection of Kierkegaard-related material.
The Library exists as one of the best places for Kierkegaard study solely due to the goodwill of people and organizations with the same commitment as the Hongs: enriching the lives of anyone interested in Kierkegaard. The Hong Kierkegaard Library greatly appreciates any and all contributions to the continuation of this mission.
To become a Friend of the Hong Kierkegaard Library, follow this link. If you are interested in donating a book or supporting the Library in other ways, please contact Gordon Marino.
THANK YOU
Books, articles, and financial gifts were recently donated to the Library by the following people:
Jyrki Kivela, Luis Guerrero Martinez, Igor Tavilla, Roman Kralik, The Friends of the Hong Kierkegaard Library, The Kierkegaard House Foundation, Alvaro Valls, Helene Politis, Claus Damgaard, John Plume, Jakub Marek, Rachel Moran, Ana Maria Lopez Calvo de Feijoo, Myriam Moreira Protasio, Maria Jose Binetti, Eric Pons, Troy Wellington Smith, Andrew Burgess, Charles Barker, Elizabeth Ann Palmer, Sergei Shevchenko, Kristen Eide-Tollefson, Begonya Saez Tajafuerce, Michael Tilley, Dr. Willem L. Letswaart, Philip Jorgensen,Abrahim Khan, David Thom, Mime Morita (President, Kierkegaard Society , Japan), David Nasby and Mary Lohre, Bartholomew Ryan, Primosz Repar, Velga Vegere, Trajce Stoyanov, Tatiana Schyttsova, Richard Purkarthofer, Andras Nagy, Eric Cole, Ettore Rocca, Katalina Elene Dobre, Rafael Garcia Pavon, Karel Eisses, Charles Taliaferro, Pia Soltoft, Jacob Boggild, Kresti Utech, Lois Rand, Joaquim Hernandez-Dispaux, Ingrid Basso.