The "Donation Ceremony for the Maurice and Judith Freedman Collection Presented by the Anthropology Department, CUHK" was held at the Chung Chi College Elisabeth Luce Moore Library on September 20, 2011 by the University Library System to express deep gratitude to the Anthropology Department for their generous donation of the Maurice and Judith Freedman Collection to the Library. Prof. Joseph Sung, VC, Prof. Sidney Cheung, chairman of the Anthropology Department, and Dr. Colin Storey, University Librarian, officiated at the ceremony. Prof. Freedman (1920 – 1975) was a British scholar and was one of the world's leading experts on Chinese anthropology. His interest in Chinese culture includes the family, marriage and kinship. He is best known for his study of lineages in South China. After Prof. Freedman and his wife (Judith Djamour, 1921 - 2009) passed away, his two students, Prof. Hugh Baker (Former Director, Centre for Asian Studies, CUHK) and Prof. Stephen Feuchtwang (the literary executor of the book collection) liaised with the Anthropology Department to discuss the donation of the late couple's books to the Department. The Department then generously donated the collection to the Library.
In December 2010, the donation of over 3,400 books and journals arrived. Among them, 49 titles are western rare books (i.e. western books published before 1900 or western books on China published before 1950) and 92 titles are autographed and signed copies of prominent scholars. This is clearly a significant collection. More than 1,800 volumes have become valuable additions to our library collections. The remaining items from the donation will be kept in the Anthropology Department. This notable donation will definitely benefit the teaching and research of our University. A virtual Maurice and Judith Freedman Collection has been set up by the Library. Presently, information on more than 1,000 donated books can be displayed on the Library Catalogue by keying in the title Maurice and Judith Freedman Collection. The remaining records will be added continually.
An Exhibition of the Maurice and Judith Freedman Collection was held in the Chung Chi Library from September 21 to October 9. Exhibits included some rare books, books on Chinese studies and books signed by distinguished scholars such as Claude Levi-Strauss, M.D. Leakey and Raymond Firth. Through the exhibition, the CUHK community not only saw the gems of the collection, but also deepened their knowledge of Chinese Studies and Anthropology.
