A Large Measure of Thanks

Ann Hawkins carving name on donor plaque

Over the past century and more the Library has benefited from the generosity of thousands of donors. Of these, a number have contributed on a scale that truly distinguishes what they have done. E. F. Riggs donated a then vast amount of money in 1891 to furnish and equip the library in the Healy Building that bears his family name; in 1934 Genevieve Garvan Brady gave, together with a number of other literary highspot manuscripts and books, the single item that anchors the library's reputation, the holograph manuscript of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; in recent years George O'Connor's charitable remainder unitrust, the estate of Arnold Rosenthal, the endowment fund given by Leon Robbin, and the manifold generosities of members of the Lauinger family have multiplied the capital resources with which the library will respond to future challenges.

Stephen Richard Kerbs (B'67) was among the last to graduate from Georgetown before Lauinger Library became a reality. He returned from service in Vietnam to marry and then, tragically, to succumb to cancer in 1972. According to his brother Tony (C'73), "Georgetown was the singular institution in his short life for which he held high personal regard. He was a good student and a good friend to many, including his buddies in the Fussers." In Stephen's memory Tony and a large number of friends have generously donated funds for an ongoing endowment in his name together with current-use funds the library is using to renovate the exhibit area on the third floor and to create the series of marble plaques on the west side of the Lauinger lobby which will commemorate the names of the library's greatest benefactors.

The design and execution of the marble plaques was entrusted to Ann Hawkins, a noted engraver on stone whose work can be seen, among other places, in both the east and west buildings of the National Gallery, the Supreme Court, and Dumbarton Oaks. The plaques are slabs of Italian Botticino marble, the same kind as that used in the interior of the west building of the National Gallery. Ms. Hawkins also executed the new commemorative lettering for the third floor display area; renovation of the interior of that area, completing the job, is scheduled for later in 1998.